News / Sports

Iranian Paralympic archers win silver medals in Rio

Monday, 12 September 2016 6:29 AM [ Last Update: Monday, 12 September 2016 10:12 AM ]

Iranian Paralympic archers Zahra Ne’mati (L) and Ebrahim Ranjbarkivaj compete in the mixed team recurve open contests of the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, September 11, 2016.

Iranian archers have picked up a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Paralympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

On Sunday afternoon, 46-year-old Iranian sportsman Ebrahim Ranjbarkivaj plus Paralympic and Olympic archer Zahra Ne’mati vied in the mixed team recurve open competitions at the Sambadrome Marquês de Sapucaí parade area in Rio, and lost to the Chinese squad of Zhao Lixue and Wu Chunyan 3-5 in the title showdown to claim the second spot.

The Italian contingent, consisting of Roberto Airoldi and Elisabetta Mijno, edged past the Mongolian team 5-1 to settle for the bronze medal.

Ne’mati said after the final competition, “It was such a fine final, and I performed much better than the previous contests. We did not expect to receive the silver medal.”

The archery competitions at the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games started on September 10, and will wrap up on September 17.

The Islamic Republic of Iran’s National Paralympic Committee has dispatched a 111-strong delegation, dubbed the Mina Caravan, to the 12-day sporting event. Iranian sportsmen and women are in action in 12 different fields.

Iranian athletes have so far clinched four medals — one gold and three silvers — putting the Islamic Republic in the 32nd slot of the medal count table.

China is on the top of the medal count table with 92 medals (39 golds, 30 silvers, 23 bronzes).

Great Britain is second with 56 medals (23 golds, 14 silvers, 19 bronzes), and Ukraine is third with a total of 49 medals (18 golds, 13 silvers and 18 bronzes).

The United States, Brazil, Uzbekistan, Australia, the Netherlands, Germany and Tunisia are in the 4th to 10th places respectively.

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