Dubai: World-class para-archery athletes from nine countries began the qualification round of the inaugural Fazza International Para-Archery Competition at the Dubai Club for the Disabled on Friday.
A total of 23 athletes from the UAE, Iraq, Iran, Azerbaijan, India, Romania, France, Malaysia and the Czech Republic took aim as they sought to qualify for the final round on Sunday.
The tournament is hosted by the Dubai Club for the Disabled and Hamdan Bin Mohammad Heritage Center in cooperation with the General Authority for Youth and Sports Welfare, Dubai Sports Council (DSC) and the UAE Paralympic Committee.
It is being held under the patronage of Shaikh Hamdan Bin Mohammad Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and DSC Chairman, as part of the Fazza Championships calendar aimed at promoting international camaraderie and competitiveness among disabled athletes.
Afrter Friday’s action, Philippe Horner of France topped the Compound Men’s Open category with 685 points, followed by Jiri Klich of the Czech Republic and another Frenchman, Eric Pereira.
Horner said: “It was a good result for me today. Although in the beginning it was very difficult, I managed to play well, so it is a very good outcome and I will try to do my best in the final rounds tomorrow [Saturday].”
In the Recurve Men’s Open category, Czech Martin Chaloupsky topped 11 other para-archers with 603 points.
Meanwhile, the Recurve Women’s Open category saw world number two Zahra Nemati of Iran dominate.
