Iranian women win 575 int'l colorful medals in a year

Tehran, Sept 12, IRNA – Iranian women have collected 575 colorful medals from different international sports events over the past Iranian year, 1398 (ended on March 20, 2020). The medals include 210 gold, 161 silver and 204 bronze, head of coordination office at Ministry of Sport and Youth Zahra-sadat Mousavi told IRNA in an interview on Saturday. She said that Iran is proud of those successes achieved by activities of 49 national federations and efforts of the athletes at 47 sport fields, Elaborating on Iranian women's participation in the international sports events, Mousavi said that they have become member of 77 international bodies, which is a record of its kind, during the past year. Iran has dispatched its female athletes to 182 competitions held outside the country, Mousavi said adding that the country has hosted 34 international contests during the mentioned period. She went on to say that female Iranian athletes have qualified for 20 world events last year, and could also acquire seven qualifications for Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games and ten for Tokyo 2020 Paralympics. Additionally, three Iranian women could qualify for 2020 Winter Youth Olympic Games in Switzerland, the official said. She further noted that 80 female referees have been dispatched to the international games last year. Elsewhere, she said that "hijab" is an issue has been accepted by international and national sports bodies to let Muslim athletes wear it at 47 sport fields. She highlighted the presence of the Iranian women in Tehran's Azadi Stadium to watch Iran-Cambodia football match in October 2019, and said it was the first since the 1979 Islamic Revolution and was historic. In 2019, Poupak Basami, Iranian woman who had taken part in the 2019 IWF World Championships in Pattaya, Thailand, broke her national records and stood at the sixth place. Participation of Iran's female weightlifters in the world competitions had international reactions as International Weightlifting Federation congratulated Iran for sending four female weightlifters to this year's world championships. Additionally, in December 2019, the Iranian women's Alysh team clinched the championship title at the world Alysh competitions held in Nur Sultan, Kazakhstan. The victory was the first in history achieved by Iran's female alysh wrestlers, and it made Iran be proud of its powerful women. At her remarks, the Iranian official stressed the importance of promotion of education among women active in different sport fields. She further spoke about Courage Award which was presented by International Paralympic Committee to Iranian skier Elaheh Gholi Fallah when she became the first Iranian woman who qualified for Paralympic Winter Games. About the number of female athletes, the official said 669 Iranian women are members of national teams. At the end of her remarks, Mousavi announced that training workshops will be held for athletes, coaches and referees to make them more capable. All those medals and achievements have gained by the Iranian women who participate in the international competitions observing the Islamic dress code. The names of other Iranian women who have helped Iran improve position of its sports in the international events have not written but they are many.