Third is the charm for archer Zahra Nemati

It was a glorious journey for Iran's Zahra Nemati as she obtained her third consecutive individual Paralympic Games gold medal after taking the women’s individual recurve - open event at Yumenoshima Park on Thursday, 2 September.

In the final, Nemati defeated newcomer Vincenza Petrilli, from Italy, 6-5., in a shoot-off. She was leading the match 5-1 after three ends, but the rival came back. 

In the tie-breaker, the Italian shot first and got a 9, but it was not enough because Nemati nailed a 10 to take the title.

“Everyone is used to this excitement and my excitement was quite high (today). It was hard to control, but I'm happy that I controlled it at the right moment,” said Nemati to the Olympic Information Services (OIS).

The Iranian got her first individual gold in W1/W2 at London 2012 and in the individual recurve - open at Rio 2016.

“Archery is not a simple meaning for me,” she affirmed. “It's a life, a lifestyle.”

In the bronze medal match, China's Wu Chunyan cruised over Greece's Dorothea Poimenidou 6-2. 

The archery contest at Tokyo 2020 continues Friday (3 September) with the men’s individual recurve - open.