{"id":3728,"date":"2025-09-26T09:17:10","date_gmt":"2025-09-26T01:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/?p=3728"},"modified":"2025-09-26T09:17:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T01:17:12","slug":"paralympic-champion-singh-forced-to-retire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.infinitysport.asia\/news\/paralympic-champion-singh-forced-to-retire\/","title":{"rendered":"Paralympic champion Singh forced to retire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A brutal day of eliminations at the World Archery Para Championships in Gwangju set six gold medal finals for exhilarating showdowns in 5.18 Democracy Square.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An early shock came with the loss of world number one and Paralympic Champion Harvinder Singh from the recurve men\u2019s competition. India\u2019s brightest individual hope was unable to start his last-32 match due to a worsening case of flu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recurve men\u2019s final will see seventh seed Stefano Travisani face neutral athlete Anton Ziapaev for gold, after a morning session marked by heavy rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe weather and field conditions were perhaps the most difficult I\u2019ve ever faced, but I tried to stay focused on my technique and not let myself be influenced too much,\u201d said the Italian. \u201cSo I\u2019m doubly satisfied.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI will continue to believe in myself, arrow after arrow. No secret. Just determination and trying until the very end.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Travisani will have a double shift on Sunday, also competing for mixed team gold with Elisabetta Mijno. His teammate will shoot for individual bronze after losing her semifinal to Gao Zihan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The recurve women\u2019s final will be an all-Chinese clash between this year\u2019s Asian Para Champion Gao and three-time world champion Wu Chunyan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In compound men, three Indian athletes reached the semifinals, with Paris 2024 runner-up Rakesh Kumar set to meet international newcomer Toman Kumar in Saturday\u2019s final.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The compound women\u2019s event followed the formbook, producing a thriller between top seeds Oznur Cure Girdi and India\u2019s Sheetal Devi \u2013 the \u2018armless archer\u2019 competing at the very highest level. It is a re-run of Pilsen 2023, where Girdi edged Devi, 140-138.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reigning World and Paralympic Champion was in typically lightsome form after securing her spot in the gold medal match.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI feel very good,\u201d said the 27-year-old. \u201cI feel much improved, much higher quality. We saw that it could be much better and that we can be even happier ahead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShooting against Sheetal again\u2026 of course, it\u2019s perfect. Archery is a journey I really love. It\u2019s a place where very different people meet at the same point and work towards the same goal. That motivates me a lot. Maybe we\u2019re different, but our goals are the same.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo being in the final again with her will make me very happy. Hopefully I won\u2019t lose and everything will be much nicer. We\u2019re looking forward to it with excitement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

FINAL MATCH-UPS<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n