Iran Ends India's Gold Medal Dreams in Paralympic Archery Shoot-Off

Iran's Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori narrowly defeated India's Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar in a gripping semi-final shoot-off at the Paris Paralympics. The Indian team initially led but were edged out by 19.3mm. Sheetal also narrowly lost her individual match to Chile's Zuniga Mariana.

The Islamic Republic of Iran's duo, Fatemeh Hemmati and Hadi Nori, delivered a blow to India's gold medal aspirations by defeating Sheetal Devi and Rakesh Kumar in the semi-final of the mixed team compound open at the ongoing Paris Paralympics on Monday. The nail-biting contest concluded with Iran's narrow victory by a margin of 19.3mm.

Initially, the Indian team took a slender lead after End 1, scoring 39-38. Rakesh and Sheetal both hit an inner ten in two of their shots. Despite maintaining their lead in End 2 with both pairs registering 37 points, End 3 saw Iran level the scoreline, thanks to their two 10s, making it 113-113. This forced a tense shoot-off.

In the decisive moment, all four archers hit the 10-point mark, but Iran's arrow was closer to the center, edging out India by 19.3mm. This defeat dashed India's hopes of competing for gold, though the Indian duo had previously showcased strong form with a 154-143 victory over Indonesia's Teodora Audi Ayudia Ferelly and Ken Swagumilang to reach the final four.

Adding to the Indian camp's woes, Sheetal Devi faced heartbreak in the women's individual compound open event. Despite her record-breaking qualification performance with 703 points out of 720, she narrowly lost to Chile's Zuniga Mariana by 137-138. Sheetal, who had claimed three medals at the Asian Para Games, including two golds, remains one of India's standout athletes. (ANI)

(With inputs from agencies.)