Iranian Female Archer Disqualified from Asian Games 'Due to Negligence'

Zahra Naimi, a member of Iran's national archery team at the Jakarta Para Asian Games, was disqualified from the competition due to a mistake regarding the timing of the match and break during the round of 16. Naimi's disqualification occurred after she had successfully passed the round of 32 in the women's individual recurve event, and many were anticipating her victory in subsequent rounds. Naimi stated to IRNA that she had to rest due to a 'technical issue,' arriving 30 seconds late, and the referee did not allow her to reach the line. She added that the referee denied her the chance to start the match even though her opponent had 'only shot one arrow.' The athlete criticized the lack of attention to Iran's team's complaint, suggesting that her Indonesian opponent's nationality played a role in the disregard for Iran's complaint. Naimi also remarked, 'No one is to blame; it was an accident that happened. I should have been more attentive; I am the main culprit; I should have checked the schedule.' Park Myun, the South Korean coach of Iran's archery team, also told Mehr News that 'part of the blame for this incident is mine for not setting the timing.' He added that Naimi 'needed to use the restroom, and it took longer, resulting in a 30-second delay. Here, when the whistle blows, everything is over.' Park Myun also denied reports that Naimi was having lunch while she should have been preparing for the competition. Mehr News reported that after the 'mistake of the officials' and Naimi's disqualification, none of the officials from the archery federation were willing to comment on this 'strange and significant negligence' and 'prevented interviews [with journalists] by transferring Naimi to the technical room.' Meanwhile, the Vice President of Women's Archery Federation, Maryam Dabaq, stated that 'such incidents happen, and we made a timing mistake.' Dabaq added that Naimi's disqualification had 'shocked' the Iranian archery team, noting, 'We were told it was break time, but it seems there was a mistake in announcing the time.' Gholamreza Shabani, the head of the Archery Federation, reacted to Naimi's disqualification by saying, 'I shouldn't speak; Naimi and the coach should talk about this.' In response to reporters' insistence for answers, Shabani added, 'Whatever Naimi says, I will say the same. Don't bother Naimi.' Zahra Naimi herself stated that she was disqualified due to 'bad luck,' but ISNA reported that the 'masterpiece' of the archery federation officials was the cause of Naimi's disqualification. According to this report, this incident occurred while the competition website 'clearly specifies the match times, and the time for the round of 16 is listed from 11:50 onwards, not 14:00.' The news agency also reported on Naimi's 'poor' mental state after her disqualification, stating that although 'Iranian officials are present at the highest level trying to create a chance for a rematch for Naimi... it seems unlikely that anything will happen.' The 2018 Asian Games are being held from August 18 to September 2 in Jakarta, Indonesia. Iran is participating in these competitions with 378 male and female athletes across all sports (including 42 sports disciplines).