Youth para archers, especially newcomers and a few experienced, from across the region have gathered in Dubai for the Asian Youth Para Games – a multisport event for para athletes aged between 12 and 23 from the member countries of the Asian Paralympic Committee.
This is the fifth edition of the biennial event, and the first time since 2013 Kuala Lumpur that para archery is included on the programme, alongside para athletics, para armwrestling, para badminton, boccia, goalball, para powerlifting, para swimming, para table tennis, para taekwondo, and wheelchair basketball.
This is also the third multi-sport event in youth category this year, after the sport has featured at the European Para Youth Games in Istanbul in July and the Youth Para Pan American Games in Santiago de Chile in November.
In Dubai, 37 archers from 11 countries are set to compete in recurve U21 and compound U21 categories in both men and women’s events, and just two nations in women W1 open event in individual competition.
China fields the largest delegation of 10, with athletes shooting in all three recurve, compound and W1 events.
Among the top names: China’s world number 4 Gao Zihan will be among the favourites for the gold in recurve women individual after her amazing run this year so far — she has a silver at the Gwangju 2025 World Archery Para Championships and a gold at Asian Para Archery Championships in Beijing.
Korea’s Kwon Hayeon, 17, will also aim to close the season on high after her recurve women team silver with two-time Paralympic champion Lee Hwa Sook at Gwangju worlds.
