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Three world records broken as armless compounder tops qualifying

23 October 2023

Hangzhou, China

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Arab Aremi qualifies top at the Asian Para Games.

Iranian recurve archer Mohammad Reza Arab Ameri set a new world record during qualifying at the Asian Para Games after shooting 667 points for the 72-arrow 70-metre round to beat the previous mark by two.

Arab Ameri and teammate Gholamreza Rahimi (646) combined to set a new world best in recurve men’s doubles qualifying, while Chinese duo Wu Chunyan (639) – a multiple world champion and another top qualifier today – and Wu Yang (601) combined to set a new recurve women’s qualification record, too.

Chunyan’s score was 35 points up on three-time Paralympic Champion Zahra Nemati.

Ai Xinliang (706), Han Guifei (667) and Chen Minyi (627) also secured pole positions for the home team in Hangzhou.

Minyi is the reigning Paralympic Champion in the W1 women’s event.

The leading country at the recent Asian Games that preceded this para multisport event, India’s squad delivered a strong first day of competition, led by teenage sensation Sheetal Devi, the only current female international to shoot with their feet.

The 16-year-old, who was runner-up at the world para championships this year, topped compound women’s qualifying with 680 points.

Sheetal and Sarita are also seeded first in the compound women’s doubles event, with the duo looking likely to secure India’s first podium of this tournament during doubles finals on Wednesday.

Competition runs until Saturday in Hangzhou, with the mixed doubles medal matches scheduled for Thursday, before individual final fours fill the last two days of the event.