Para archer Kerrie Leonard will take on 2016 gold medallist Jiamin Zhou of China in tomorrow's elimination round of the Women’s W2 Individual Compound (8am Irish time) after today’s qualifying round at Esplanade des Invalides.
The Meath native finished 21st overall in a field of 28, scoring 653 from 72 arrows. The highest possible score is 720, with Turkey's Oznur Cure Girdi posting 704 to break the world record and finish one clear of Sheetal Devi.
The Indian teenager has no arms and uses her legs, shoulder and jaw to shoot her arrows and was the highest ranked woman coming into the event.
All competitors return for tomorrow’s head-to-head elimination rounds, with the Meath native first up when she takes on her Chinese opponent. Gold medallist from Rio, Zhou finised 17th in Tokyo, eight places below Leonard on her Paralympic debut.
The winner will progress to the last eight on Saturday when the medal positions will be decided.
Leonard (below), who first competed for Ireland in 2012, admitted her opening was "full of tension" before finding her groove in a score short of her season's best (662).
The two and a half hours competition is in marked contrast to tomorrow's short, one v one format, but it's one that appeals to 34-year-old's competitive spirit.
"Endurance shooting is a lot different to head-to-head shooting," she told RTÉ Sport. "It suits me better to compete.
"You can see the whites of your opponent's eyes."
The 2016 European Championship silver medallist leans strongly into sports psychology and is adamant that momentum - particularly in the knockout format - is crucial.
"You have to keep repeating to yourself, 'I can't do anything to beat her, she can’t do anything to beat me’," she says of the head-to-head round.
"I can let her beat me, but that’s my choice. I’m only responsible for my own shooting. Once that arrow goes in the middle and you feel you have a marker, you repeat that.
"When it’s positive, it’s a snowball effect."
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