Iranian women represent a rising professional population who have found their ways to high ranking positions in work, social affairs and also sports fields. In recent years, Iranian women have made remarkable achievements in various fields of sports in international and domestic events. The success stories of Iranian women in international and domestic sport events bring to light how they have managed to shoulder their responsibilities both at home and in the society.
Iranian women have proved they are no less competent in sports than those in other countries, showing even better results and more capabilities in sports events. Supports from Iran's Ministry of Sports, Sports Federations, and of course, President Rouhani's administration's efforts in the field of sports, all have led to ever growing success among Iranian girls and women. President Hassan Rouhani has for several times emphasized on providing equal room and opportunities for girls, compared to boys, to pave the way for their success in international arena.
Shining in international competitions
Iran's women made historical records in 17th Asian Games Incheon 2014, with 15 medals, 2 gold, 7 silver and 6 bronze. Female wushu players showed excellent performance in the 12th World Wushu Championships Cheras Kuala Lumpur Badminton Association Hall in 2013, capturing three gold medals.
Iranian shooter girls tried world cup 10 meter air rifle and succeeded to beat the world’s record in team pursuit. Not only did they win the golden medal of 10 meter air rifle, but also broke the record of the world’s youth event.
Iranian fencer girls acted very successfully in the Asian Games and they own several medals for the first time in the country's history. They won 9 bronze medals in the 2013 Asian Youth Games which played a considerable role in achieving the second position in the competitions.
The country's women sailors won six gold medals in the final competition of Young Women Outrigger or Double-Hullcanoe, Young Women Single Kayak, Women Single Kayak and the Young Women Tandem Kayaks.
Iranian famous sprint athlete Maryam Tousi who is known as the “Wind Girl” for her high speed in the athletics, was the first Iranian woman who succeeded to win gold medal in the women’s 400m in the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Thailand (time 53.85"). She also improved Iran’s sprint athletics several times. The world Sprint Athletics Federation put Maryam Tousi in 66 rank of the women’s 400m in 2013 and she became the third woman sprinter of Iran.
Iran’s women National Canoe Polo team won gold medal in the Asian championship competitions. And, Shirin Gerami is Iran's first female triathlete to have taken part in the sport's world championship.
These are only a few examples of Iranian women's remarkable achievements in world tournaments, with gaining honor to their country and creating a more positive view towards Iranian women's high potentials in sports.
International events provided the opportunity for women to shine once again in the social arena and prove they possess a lot of capabilities. In Asian Games held in South Korea last year, Iranian girls even showed better performance than the time Iran hosted the games.
Under the auspices of the government and sports federations, women have made their way towards various types of athletic competitions. Volleyball, basketball, football, shooting, track and field, sailing, chess and even Sepak Takraw, which is played only in limited number of countries, are among sports in which Iranian women have shown success in international tournaments.
Sepak Takraw
Sepak Takraw is a sport for which even many developing countries do not have any federation or association for it. However, Iran has formed an association for the sport which dates back to 12 years ago when it was established in the country in 2003. Iranian women so far have shown success in the sport in Asian tournaments last year.
Vice-president of Sepak Takraw Association of Iran Yalda Ghasemi was the only female referee who attended the Sepak Takraw World Cup in Thailand showing a very good performance.
In an interview to Mehr News, she underlined that the government and sport federations' support had led to an increase in women's presence in world events achieving repeated successes in the competitions.
She pointed to the role of families in the development of women's sports, saying that Iranian families currently wait for hours in line to register their daughters in sports classes believing that investment and efforts for their daughters will certainly show good results in future.
She highlighted the unwavering efforts by Sepak Takraw Association of Iran, saying that the president of the association allocated adequate funds, financial support for the promotion of women's participation in the sport.
In the process of achieving success by Iranian women in sports, in addition to an increase in financial aid, media support which played a significant role in the success, should not be ignored.
In the not-too-distant past, women's sports budget was not considerable. However, athletes and officials paid for holding sport camps out of their own pockets.
Today, thanks to all-out supports, women's sports found the right route to achieving more successes in international scenes.
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