Iranian athletes collect 8 medals in Islamic Solidarity Games

Iranian sportsmen and women are displaying outstanding performances at the ongoing 4th edition of Islamic Solidarity Games in Azerbaijan, and have so far been awarded eight medals.

On Saturday, Iranian female sports shooters Narjes Emamgholinejad and Elaheh Ahmadi impressed the audience at the Baku Shooting Center in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, and collected two medals, including one gold.

Emamgholinejad accumulated 249.6 points at the end of the women’s 10-meter air pistol event to claim the top position and clinch the gold.

Ahmadi finished in the second place with 246.1 points.

“I did not expect to be the first athlete to clinch a medal for the Iranian sports delegation. I’m feeling great. I had tried very hard to put in an excellent performance during today’s contests. Thanks God, I could produce the desired result. I extend my gratitude to my teammates, coaches and managers over this achievement,”  Emamgholinejad said after the event.

“It was a difficult final. I could not restore after the Rio 2016 Olympic Games because I had to participate in numerous training camps and championships. Actually, I was not psychologically prepared, and this affected my presentation today,” Ahmadi commented.

Moreover, the Iranian men's national swimming team, comprised of Sina Gholampour, Mehdi Ansari, Jamal Chavoushi and Neniamin Gharehhassanlou, settled for bronze in men's 400-meter Freestyle Relay.

The Turkish team snatched the gold medal while Indonesia landed in the second spot.

Iran’s national water polo team also recorded its first victory at the Islamic Solidarity Games.

The Iranians defeated their Azerbaijani counterparts 16-10 in a match staged at Water Polo Arena.

The Iranian water polo team is scheduled to face Saudi Arabia in its third showdown tomorrow.

Additionally, Iranian male and female karate practitioners collected four medals.

Iran’s Nasrin Dousti participated in the women’s minus 50-kilogram kumite contests at the Baku Sports Hall on Saturday, and employed a wide array of techniques to prevail over Turkish opponent Serap Ozcelik in the final competition to clinch the gold.

Azerbaijanii athlete Nurana Aliyeva and Imane Taleb from Algeria settled for the bronze medals.

In the men’s minus 60-kilogram kumite division, Amir Mehdizadeh could earn a bronze medal.

Uzbekistan’s Sadriddin Saymatov overcame Turkish opponent Aykut Kaya and stood atop the podium.

Also on Saturday, Taravat Khaksar and Rozita Alipourkeshkaalesaad claimed a bronze and silver medal for the Islamic Republic of Iran in the women’s kumite minus 55-kilogram and minus 61-kilogram categories respectively.

Iranian judo practitioner Alireza Khojasteh also added a bronze to Iran’s medal tally in the men’s minus 66-kilogram section.

The 4th Islamic Solidarity Games started in Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 12 under the motto “Solidarity is Our Strength.” The tournament will wrap up on May 22, 2017.

Athletes from 54 Muslim countries around the world are representing their nations over 10 days of competition across 20 different sports, which include 23 disciplines (athletics and para-athletics, aquatics – diving, aquatics – swimming, aquatics – water polo, basketball 3×3, football, gymnastics – artistic, gymnastics – rhythmic, wushu, table tennis, handball, judo and blind judo, wrestling – Greco, wrestling – freestyle, shooting, tennis, volleyball, boxing, zurkhaneh, karate, taekwondo and weightlifting) in 16 world-class sporting venues.

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