Para archery icon Zahra Nemati is set to miss the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games following yesterday’s disappointing news from the technical deputy of the Iranian National Paralympic Committee, Saeid Solgi.
A three-time Paralympic champion having won recurve women’s individual gold at London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, she will be denied adding to her illustrious medal tally this summer.
“Nemati has not participated in any training camp after the 2022 Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, and she will also be absent in the Para Archery European Cup to be held in Czech Republic in late June,” Solgi explained. “We preferred not to register her name at the 2024 Paralympic Games.”
“Nemati is a legendary athlete, and we are not going to send her to Paris under these conditions due to her lack of physical and technical preparation,” he added.
‘Legendary’ is one superlative of many for Nemati, being Iran’s most decorated Paralympic athlete.
In addition to her individual medals at the Games, the 39-year-old, who competed in the able-bodied Rio 2016 Olympics, has a Paralympic women’s team bronze (London 2012) and mixed team silver (Rio 2016) to her name as well as two World Archery Para Championships individual titles from Bangkok 2013 and Beijing 2017.
She is also regarded as one of the most influential para archers of all time with her social campaigns on women’s rights and disabilities in sport and is the first United Nations Ambassador of Global Understanding.
Iran has two quotas ahead of Paris (one recurve man and one 1 woman) but for the first time will be unable to pick their most coveted para archer.
To say Iran will miss Nemati this summer is an understatement.
