Archery: Trailblazer Nemati bows out to warm applause
By Ian Ransom
RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) - It was a nervous and ultimately unsuccessful debut for wheelchair archer Zahra Nemati in the Olympics on Tuesday but the Iranian trailblazer exited with an inspiring message for disabled athletes.
Nemati won Iran's first Paralympics gold in archery at London and became the first woman to bear the nation's flag at an Olympic opening ceremony during the athletes' parade at the Maracana stadium on Friday.
A former taekwondo fighter whose spinal cord was severed in a car crash over a decade ago, the 31-year-old had a tough first-round encounter at the Sambodromo against Inna Stepanova, who won the women's team silver with Russia on Sunday.
Nemati hit the inner gold circle for a perfect score of 10 with her first arrow but winced with embarrassment as her third arrow sailed into the outer ring for a lowly three, handing the opening set to her opponent.
She dug deep to level the match but Stepanova was in top form and closed it out 6-2, leaving Nemati weeping uncontrollably after her quick elimination.
"That was good. I did my best but my opponent was really good and that's why she could win it," Nemati told reporters after exiting the shooting platform to warm applause from the modest crowd.
"Maybe I couldn't control my emotions and feelings at the moment, that's why I couldn't do my best performance.
"The difference is only from the stress that I have competing here."
Nemati, who will defend her archery title in the Sept. 7-18 Paralympics, said she hoped her qualification to compete against able-bodied athletes at the Games would prove inspiring.
"I'm really excited about participating in the Olympics, and I hope it is going to be motivation for all the people with disabilities, happy to see me here competing," she said.
"Don't let your disability defeat you. Sport is the best means to defeat disability."
(Editing by Meredith Mazzilli)