Dubai hosted the 2022 edition of the World Archery Para Championships from February 22 to 27, with Paralympic and World champions among 223 para-archers from 40 nations in action. This is the biggest parasport event in Dubai since the city hosted the World Para Athletics Championships in 2019 at the Dubai Club for People of Determination grounds.
This was one of the biggest events for UAE archers to compete at a World Championships at home. Russian Federation, Turkey, United Kingdom, USA and Iran were among the top nations at the championships, with Russia arriving here with the biggest delegation of 28. Paralympic and World medallists David Drahonínský of the Czech Republic and Bahattin Hekimoğlu from Turkey (compound men-W1), Iran’s Rahimi Gholamreza and India’s Harvinder Singh (recurve men), Jessica Stretton (compound women) and Elisabetta Mijno (recurve women) participated.
The Director of the Championships, Majid Rashed, said: “Dubai has set benchmarks in the past hosting several World Cups, under the Fazza Championships, amid the challenging times of the pandemic. And this time as well, we hoste a successful competition with all precautionary measures. The Chairman of the Local Organising Committee for Dubai 2022 Championships, Thani Juma Berregad, said Dubai achieved yet another milestone with the successful hosting of this Championships. Archery is relatively a new sport in the country and the success of this event will surely further develop the sport in the country.”
The World Archery’s Chair of the Para Committee and Technical Delegate for the Dubai 2022 Championships, Dominique Ohlmann, praised Dubai’s spirit and willingness to challenge and host successful events in the past. “The entire Para archery community competed in this world-class facility. The championships, which has been postponed due to Covid 19 pandemic, opened with the qualification round on February 22. The finals took place on February 25, 26 and 27. The Dubai Club for People of Determination hosted the World Archery Para Championships where 16 world champions in four categories were crowned.
Para archery is the discipline for athletes classified with a physical or visual impairment. The rules for targets, competition format and matchplay are the same as for the target archery and indoor archery disciplines. In addition to the recurve and compound categories, para archery also has a W1 category for athletes with a severe impairment and a visually impaired category. Para archers often use assistive devices, such as custom draw or release aids, mouth tabs or wheelchairs, to level the playing field. Classified athletes may also compete with able-bodied athletes in target archery events using their assistive devices.
Para archers can compete with a recurve bow in the recurve open category and with a compound bow in the compound open category. Para archers in the W1 category may use either a recurve or a compound bow with limitations on draw weight, a restriction on magnified sights and other changes to the standard rules. The rules for targets, competition and matchplay for W1 archers are largely the same as for compound archers. Visually impaired archers are split into two categories (VI1 and VI2/3) depending on the severity of their impairment. The process of classification provides a structure for a para archery competition.
The system defines whether an athlete can use an assistive device, decides whether they are eligible to compete in para archery and groups eligible athletes by the severity of their impairment to create a level playing field. Archery was used as a rehabilitation activity for injured veterans by Dr Ludwig Guttmann – regarded as the founder of the Paralympic movement – at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in the 1940s. He held the first archery tournament at the hospital in 1948 with 16 athletes.
The competition was run annually and in 1952 a Dutch team participated, setting the foundations for an international event and acting as a precursor to the Paralympic Games. The Russian national team won the title of the Dubai edition held under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, with the participation of 223 players from 40 countries. Russia top[ed with 11 coloured medals including four gold.
The champions were crowned by Saeed Hareb, Secretary-General of the Dubai Sports Council, Thani Jumaa Belrakad, Chairman of the Organizing Committee, Majid Al-Usaimi, Event director, Mohamed Fadel Al-Hamli, President of the UAE Paralympic Committee, and Hassan Al-Mazrouei, Member of the Management of Dubai Club for People of Determination among others. Saeed Hareb said People of Determination enjoy the attention and support of the wise leadership as the UAE has become a forum for champions to compete in the strongest international championships for various sports. His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Sports Council, is keen to provide support and care for People of Determination. Majid Al-Osaimi thanked His Highness Sheikh Mansour bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.