Nemati claims Asian Para Games gold in tiebreaker title fight

China’s Ye Yinyan started the Asian Para Games gold medal match badly.

Scoring only 17 out of 30 points for her first three-arrow set after shooting a 5-6-6 series, Ye was two set points down and quickly in a hole.

But it was a hole she climbed out of. Three sets down and over half the match gone, things were leveled at three set points apiece – then Ye pulled ahead by winning the fourth.

Under pressure, London 2012 Paralympic Champion Zahra Nemati delivered. Twenty-seven points to Ye’s 25 for the fifth and final regulation three arrows to force a tiebreaker.

The Iranian athlete delivered again in the shoot-off: 10 points against a nine for her Chinese challenger – and the Asian Para Games title secured.

NEMATI became Iran’s first-ever female gold medallist at either a Paralympic or Olympic Games when she won in London. Since then, she has collected numerous awards for her accomplishment, spoken to United Nations ambassadors about enabling women’s sporting participation and inspired many young, female athletes at home in Iran.

She now has an Asian Para Games gold medal to go along with her Paralympic and World Championships titles.

Nemati’s teammate Ebrahim Ranjbarkivaj won the recurve men’s open event with slightly less difficulty. He too beat a Chinese athlete for gold but unlike Zahra, Ebrahim did not surrender a single set point in his 6-0 win over Zhao Lixue.

China did take gold in the recurve mixed team event. The Chinese pair beat host nation Korea in the final. Iran had bronze over Iraq.

Wurood AL MURSHEDI won the compound women’s open division – one title for Iraq – while Iran’s Hadi NORI topped the men’s event. The Iranian mixed team beat Korea in the mixed team final.

Korea did pick up one gold medal in the sport the country is probably most famous for at the Olympic level. Two Koreans made the final of the W1 competition, which was mixed and included one female athlete: KOO Dongsub beat JANG Daesung by 10 points.