There were no more medals for the UAE at the Paralympic Games on the third day of action in Rio on Saturday as none of their three shooters were able to reach the final of the mixed 50m rifle prone S1 event.
Abdullah Sultan Al Aryani had got the UAE’s campaign in Brazil off to a strong start on Thursday when he picked up a silver medal in the R1 men’s 50m air rifle standing SH1 competition.
But the Emirati, who won a gold medal at the 2012 Games in London, could only finish 17th in the qualifying round out of the field of 45, with the only the top eight going on to the final.
Al Aryani finished with a total of 630.0 from his six rounds, which was 2.5 adrift of the qualification mark.
The best UAE performer was Saif Al Nuami, who was 14th, with a score of 630.3, with his best round coming in the sixth and final round when he shot 106.4
Abdulla Saif Al Aryani completed the UAE’s contingent in 22nd place, with his score being 628.8.
The gold medal in the event went to Slovakian shooter Veronika Vadovicova, who won with a total of 212.5 in the final. This was one point better than Germany’s Natascha Hiltrop, who had to settle for silver.
It was Vadovicova’s second gold at the Games, having already triumphed in the R2 women’s 10m air rifle standing SH1.
Both Al Aryanis and Obaid Al Dahmani are next in action on Monday when they take part in the R7 50m rifle three positions SH1.
In Sunday’s action, Abdulla Hayayei will compete for the UAE in the men’s F34 shot putt competition, with proceedings beginning at 5.03pm.
Then Abdulaziz Al Shkeili and Ahmed Al Hosani are in the F33 shot putt contest, which is scheduled to begin at 12.33am on Monday morning UAE time.
The Paralympic Games run until next Sunday, with 18 UAE athletes competing in Brazil.
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