Shaun Anderson bowed out of the 2024 Paralympics with moist eyes, a chest filled with pride and the admiration of thousands of spectators at the breathtaking Esplanade de Invalides on Sunday.
The Team SA archer, in his third Games, went down in another close battle, this time to No 1 seed, Tianxin Zhang of China 136-134 in the quarter-finals, having thrilled when upsetting Turkey’s No 6 seed Yigit Aydin, by one point, 133-132.
The crowd and venue made for an unforgettable experience for the 51-year-old who was understandably emotional afterwards.
“I have so many people to thank for being here. I couldn’t be more proud of what I achieved, beating the world No 6 and then pushing the No 1 all the way. I get to play these guys once or twice a year, and they’re full-time professionals. I’m No 34 in the world and here I am against the very best at the Paralympics.
“This has been the best experience of my career. I can’t begin to say what it felt like and I fed off the energy of the crowd. I’m going to have a couple of beers tonight after I’ve supported the para-athletes at the Stade de France. The entire Team SA has been amazing, and to my coach Barbara (Manning) I can’t say thank you enough. We came up short against the No 1 seed and it came down to one arrow, where I had an eight.”
Indeed, there were only two points between the competitors after five legs of suspense and entertainment on a Sunday morning when the sun came out but when the wind swirled.
An hour before he had suffered a 140-136 defeat to the No 1, he had sprung a major upset, winning by one point, which is becoming something of a trademark for South Africans when it comes to their sport.
It wasn’t only the one point margin that took the breath away, but the manner in which it came. Aydin had needed an arrow to hit the board in the eight circle to extend the game, or the nine or 10 zone to win. The odds were heavily stacked in his favour. Inexplicably, he pulled out a seven and was beaten.
Anderson said that he’d never lost hope. He had enjoyed a 51-50 lead after two of the five ends but then Aydin produced five 10’s in succession and led by two points into the final end. He still ked by two points with that one arrow to go.
“I knew I had to keep the pressure on him,” Anderson had said immediately afterwards, an ice pack on his painful right wrist and the music of Jack Parow being played through his headphones. Anderson, one of the most charismatic characters of the Paralympic squad, knew that he’d be up against it in the quarter-finals.
However, as he said, “South Africans fight to the very end. I don’t use the word can’t, it doesn’t exist in my vocabulary. My hashtag is #i’mpossible. If you put your mind to things you can do it.”
He didn’t rule out qualifying for 2028 in Los Angeles. And neither should anyone else.
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