Italy’s third medal in archery has arrived at Yumenoshima Park Archery Field in Tokyo. After the bronze in the open compound of Maria Andrea Virgilio and the silver in the open recurvo of Enza Petrilli, Elisabetta Mijno and Stefano Travisani conquer the silver in the open mixed team recurvo.
The medal of the two Italian athletes is the podium n.200 in Italian history at the Paralympic Games and it is also the medal n.30 of Italian archery at the Paralympics. The first, obtained in 1964 at the Tokyo Games, was Raimondo Longhi’s silver and now, with those won in 2021, the Azzurri have set a new record: for 10 consecutive editions they have won at least one podium.
THE RACE
Under a rain that never stopped falling on the field of play, Elisabetta Mijno and Stefano Travisani, followed by coach Willy Fuchsova, carried on an excellent path, overcoming Mongolia 6-0 in the Japanese morning in the second round. Then, in the afternoon and evening matches, they continued on their way to the final, beating Japan 6-2 in the quarterfinals and Iran 5-3 in the semifinals. In the final, Italy found Russia again, re-proposing the match of the last world championship (even if the opponents’ interpreters were not the same).
THE FINAL
they were overtaken in the final by the duo RPC (Sidorenko, Smirnov) after the playoff arrows 5-4 (18-17), at the end of an indescribable swing of emotions.
The Russian athletes won the first set 36-34, Italy equalized the score by winning the second 33-39 and went on to 4-2 winning the third fraction 32-31. In the fourth set the Azzurri fail to earn the point that would be worth the victory: the opponents earn the shoot off with a 35-33. In the play-off, Italy scores a 9 and an 8, while the Russians place two 9s that are worth the Paralympic title and the third blue medal that improves the bronze in the mixed obtained in Rio 2016.
For the duo under the Fiamme Azzurre this is the umpteenth international success, after the world champion gold in 2017 and silver at the 2019 World Cup.
THE PATH OF THE BLUES
EIGHTH – The blue duo beat Mongolia (Demberel, Namjilmaa) 6-0 in the second round with the following partial: 27-25, 32-25, 33-32.
FOURTH – Elisabetta Mijno and Stefano Travisani gained access to the semifinal by beating the hosts of Japan (Shigesada, Ueyama) 6-2 in the quarterfinals. The Azzurri went down 0-2 with the first set won by the Asians 32-34, but they reacted and won the other three partials by increasing their average points: 35-33, 36-32 and 34-31.
SEMIFINALS – The Azzurri beat Iran (Nemati, Rahimi) 5-3 in the semifinals. Decisive 10 to Elisabetta’s last arrow to reach the final avoiding the shoot off. The Italians were at a disadvantage after the first set ended 32-34 for their opponents. They equalize the score by winning the second set 33-31 and go on at 4-2 taking advantage of the error of Rahimi who fails to shoot the fourth arrow in time (33-27) and in the end comes the draw in the fourth volley (37- 37) which leads them to play the Paralympic title.
The final for the bronze ended with a 6-2 victory for the defending champions of China over Iran.
THE DECLARATIONS
These are the words of Stefano Travisani, class ’85, after the first medal on his debut at the Paralympics: “For me, unfortunately, silver is usually a lost medal – said the Milanese athlete, but residing in Correzzola, in the province of Padua – but these were the my first Paralympics, I experienced a lot of emotions so that’s okay. I am just starting out, Paris 2024 is only three years from now, so now I enjoy this moment and this medal and then we can think about future commitments. Who do I dedicate the medal to? A special dedication goes to my family, my partner, the staff, my friends who have supported and supported me in this path that lasted 6 years “.
Elizabeth Mijno, who had made his debut at the Games in Beijing 2008, after the individual silver in London 2012 and the mixed bronze with Roberto Airoldi in Rio 2016, can celebrate the third medal in his fourth participation: “We both put our hearts into it and we made a beautiful course – said the Piedmontese athlete -. I, as it ended 3 days ago after losing access to the individual semifinal in the play-off, I leave the field with this medal held high. I owed it to everyone, to my team and to myself. I am happy to have accompanied Stefano on this journey and I am sure that we still have some way to go together. The future? I enjoy this moment, I’m used to preparing one engagement at a time. Next year there is the world championship which is valid for the Paralympic qualification. Paris is in 3 years and it’s also close to home, why not… ”.
This is the examination of the Italian trip by the Technical Manager of the Para-Archery Sector William “Willy” Fuchsova: “It was a great Paralympics with great satisfactions and successes, which ended in a great way with a final and a play-off. Stefano Travisani and Elisabetta Mijno left the field with a very important silver medal also because it restored confidence to Elisabetta who had gone badly in the individual after a shoot off that had denied her the semifinal and also for Stefano, who is still young and he wanted confirmation after a couple of years of difficulty. A confirmation arrived in the most important race in the world. A team made up of many rookies, not only among the athletes but also in the staff. We saw a Maria Andrea Virgilio win a bronze in the compound with the last three really amazing arrows, we saw Enza Petrilli who for only 4 years of shooting has lined up the greatest archers in the world, comparing herself with Nemati, the greatest archer existing Paralympic. And then we saw a wonderful Paralympic record scored by Eleonora Sarti. Then our little champion: the youngest of all, the 19-year-old Asia Pellizzari, who does not return with a podium but with a great deal of experience and the desire to see these three years pass quickly to redeem herself in Paris. ” among the technicians there were rookies: Stefano Mazzi for the women’s compound and Fabio Fuchsova for the Olympic. They behaved great, but those who were not at the debut were also very important, like the coach Antonio Tosco and our physiotherapist Chiara Barbi. These results are also due to the work of all those of the staff who, unfortunately, due to the constraints caused by Covid, had to stay at home but who continued to work remotely via telephone. This success is the result of the work of everyone, of the athletes, of their families, of the personal technicians, of the clubs, of the CIP, of the Federation, of the employees of the Federation, who have supported us and solved all the problems, until a few hours before. departure. Thanks to all those who helped and supported us during the trips, the companies that welcomed us during the rallies. I am privileged to lead a superhero team. Thank you all for the trust you have placed in us. Now let’s celebrate a bit and then we’ll think about the next three years, which seem a lot but are few… ”. Finally, the CT also has a dedication: “The first thanks goes to my family, who sacrificed themselves, who didn’t see me often because I was not very present: thanks to them for their patience”. But we are sure that these results have paid off a bit for everyone …
Also the Vicar Vice President FITARCO and highly decorated Paralympic champion Oscar De Pellegrin he expresses all his joy: “I am very happy for these results. I admit it’s not easy to stay calm so you watch the races in front of the TV. A team is always seen by the actors on the pitch, but also by those behind them and by those who could not be present in person. Before the start, as far as I’m concerned, I had predicted three podiums, which then arrived. The colors of the medals don’t matter. When you get two silvers in the playoff there is nothing to complain about. Of course, a little more luck is always welcome in some cases, but when you’re there, nothing is really enough to win or lose. What I really liked was that there was harmony between athletes and technicians, there was harmony in the approach to the race. These facets are to be appreciated and it makes me understand that in these 5 years we have worked well, with extraordinary athletes, which include those with the most experience and the new generation who have obtained very important results at their debut. My bronze medal in Barcelona 1992 comes to mind: I got on the podium and I didn’t even know how I did it… I think it was like that for them too: when you are an outsider and you take the field without pressure you can achieve these performances and win. Experiencing certain emotions in person and now experiencing them behind their backs with another role was fantastic. Everyone knew how to be useful to get here. I believe that our Paralympics represents a great pride for the CIP, for the Federation and for the entire Italian archery and sports movement. As for archery, it was Beijing 2008 that we had not won 3 medals in a single edition. It means having done a good job, not to mention that the sector has been almost completely renewed from London: the ones we have now are all athletes who can still have their say for other editions. So the work carried out on the territory and that of the technicians was fruitful: a combination that brought the fruits to be able to obtain this growth path. a job to share with the athletes and with those who worked behind the scenes. If we add to the results of the Paralympics also the two medals at the Olympic Games we can say that for Fitarco this edition of Tokyo 2020 was a great success, certainly the result of the skills and work of these great champions, but also of a Federation and a staff. who have been able to support them “.
The President too Mario Scarzella after the 3 Italian medals at the Paralympic Games he summarizes the emotions experienced in Tokyo: “We have to say good to Elisabetta and Stefano, to the other athletes who have reached the podium like Maria Andrea and Enza, but our thanks also goes to everything else of the team and all the technical staff. We prepared a team that came to Tokyo to win and in the end we won. They said that after Rio we would worsen our results and instead we have improved. A great satisfaction. Too bad that not everyone is here tonight, because part of the group had to leave for Italy. I wanted to celebrate with everyone. The fact that this mixed silver medal is Italy’s 200th medal at the Paralympics gives us even more pleasure… ”. (Source FITARCO)
