{"id":10721,"date":"2016-08-10T08:14:44","date_gmt":"2016-08-10T08:14:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/?p=10721"},"modified":"2016-08-10T08:14:44","modified_gmt":"2016-08-10T08:14:44","slug":"zahra-nemati-wins-hearts-with-stirring-effort-in-archery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biphoo.com\/bipnews\/sports\/rio-olympics\/zahra-nemati-wins-hearts-with-stirring-effort-in-archery.html","title":{"rendered":"Zahra Nemati wins hearts with stirring effort in archery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zahra Nemati wins hearts with stirring effort in archery<\/strong> <\/span><\/h2>\n

Zahra Nemati wins hearts with stirring effort in archery<\/strong> :Zahra Nemati\u2019s original plan was to compete in the Olympics at taekwondo. A tomboy in her youth, she loved the physicality of the martial art, quickly won her black belt and made the Iranian national team. Then, aged 18, she got hit by a car. Her spine was shattered and she lost the use of both legs.<\/span><\/p>\n

Thirteen years later and Nemati is at her first Olympic Games. She has not made a Lazarus-like recovery; she uses a wheelchair to get around, which makes navigating the cracked pavements and high kerbs of Rio a particular trial.<\/span><\/p>\n

It also makes her stand out from every other athlete in competition. None of them will be returning to Rio in September to compete in the Paralympics as well. That is what is on Nemati\u2019s agenda, when she hopes to defend the Paralympic title she won in London in 2012, when she became the first Iranian woman to win a gold in either the Olympics or Paralympics.<\/span>
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Nemati\u2019s Paralympic gold was in archery, not taekwondo. Below-the-waist paralysis put paid to her dreams of being world No1 in a sport based around kicking someone else in the face. It was not easy to accept she could no longer do the sport she loved, she recently told a Japanese documentary crew. \u201cAs a taekwondo athlete, not being able to use my legs was like a pianist losing their arms,\u201d she told WowWow TV.<\/span><\/p>\n

After winning in London she said: \u201cI wanted to show the Iranian youth, especially girls, that the Iranian women are no worse than others, and we may even win the Paralympic and receive medals. I wanted to break the stereotype and I\u2019m very glad that I did it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

In another first, she was chosen to be the flag-bearer for Iran at Friday\u2019s opening ceremony in the Maracan\u00e3 stadium, leading out a team dominated by men.<\/span><\/p>\n

Though winning another Paralympic gold is a realistic target, Nemati dared to dream big before making her Olympic debut, despite ranking 49th after her qualifying round at the Samb\u00f3dromo on Tuesday. Though far from a favourite, she insisted she was going for gold: \u201cThe most important thing is to believe in yourself, then anything can come true,\u201d she said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Determination has always been Nemati\u2019s strong suit. That and not feeling sorry for herself. After her accident, she refused to mope about being miserable, her mum, Fatemeh, told the documentary: \u201cShe was always smiling. Never complained or cried. Can you believe that?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The only bad thing about having Nemati on the squad is that she makes everyone else look lazy, one team-mate told the WowWow director: \u201cI get embarrassed because Zahra is always training even when her able-bodied team-mates are tired. She really encourages us,\u201d he said, somewhat sheepishly.<\/span><\/p>\n

When it became clear that Nemati was going to have to switch sports, it was on the archery field that she found her new home. She picked up her bow in 2007, three years after her accident. \u201cArchery made me strong \u2014 and taught me the meaning of strength,\u201d the 31-year-old said in the documentary. \u201cWhen I was 18 I lost the ability to walk in a car accident. I was close to losing my life. But I had a chance to live.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The London Paralympics were special to Nemati for reasons that transcend sport. The night she won gold she got engaged to another Iranian para star, fellow archer Roham Shahabipour, and celebrated in the Olympic village with the rest of the national squad. The couple had met at an association for athletes many years earlier. They had a lot in common: he too had been born without disabilities. A former electrician, he damaged his spine in 2001 when he was hit by a falling pole.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only a very select group of athletes have competed in both an Olympics and a Paralympics in the same year. Oscar Pistorius is the most famous, having done the double in London 2012, now notorious for all the wrong reasons. The last archer to take part in both was Italy\u2019s Paola Fantato at Atlanta 1996.<\/span><\/p>\n

Nemati qualified fair and square. She won her Olympic place last year with a superb performance at the 2015 Asian Archery Championships in Bangkok, Thailand, where she won silver in the women\u2019s recurve.<\/span>
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When she was pushed on to the fake grass at the Samb\u00f3dromo on Tuesdayyesterday, Nemati looked calm and composed beneath her tight white headscarf and glasses. She started well, scoring a maximum 10 points with her first arrow against the Russian, Inna Stepanova. The sparse crowd quickly took sides, greeting the Russian\u2019s first winning set with near silence and then cheering the Iranian wildly when she won the second set with an eight and two perfect 10s. \u201cArchery needs a calm heart,\u201d Nemati said beforehand.<\/span><\/p>\n

Alas, it was not to be, and Stepanova won three sets to one. Afterwards Nemati was too tearful to talk straight away. Her translator coaxed her round and she answered questions from reporters. \u201cI did my best but my opponent was really good,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s why she beat me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

It felt different from the Paralympics, she said. \u201cThe difference is the stress that I had here. The Olympics are more stressful.\u201d Asked what message she would like to send to other people with disabilities around the world, she perked up: \u201cDon\u2019t let disability defeat you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Source<\/strong> <\/span>: https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/sport\/2016\/aug\/09\/zahra-nemati-olympics-heart-and-minds-archery<\/span><\/p>\n

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