Iranian archer Zahra Nemati is a role model for athletes, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) wrote.

Zahra Nemati was an instant legend on the Sambodromo, drawing attention and respect from competitors and fans from all nations. Her appearance in the Olympics and the Paralympics, along with her tireless efforts to advocate for women in sports made Nemati a role model athlete.
She beat China’s world champion Wu Chunyan in the gold medal match for the recurve women’s open. Wu has happy for the competition and ready to face Nemati again.
Renowned archer and Italian star Elisabetta Mijno fell to Nemati in the quarterfinals and discussed afterwards that it felt like the gold medal match.
At the 2012 London Paralympics, Nemati captured gold to become the first woman from Iran to win a medal in the Olympics.
“The energy from the people around me, the spectators, the people who wanted me to win – all this energy affected me and that was what helped me. I am very happy, I am so happy. I am so tired and all this work from the past two, three months has been weighing heavily on my shoulders,” Nemati said after winning her second gold medal at Paralympics.

Nemati was not the only Iranian archer receiving respect.
Gholamreza Rahimi and Ebrahim Ranjbarkivai both climbed the individual recurve men’s open podium and battled one another in a five-set semifinal. Rahimi eventually claimed gold and Ranjbarkivaj bronze.