The flame of Rio Olympics 2016 went out on Sunday, Aug. 21, with the Iranian squad packing up 8 medals as they returned home from the 16-day extravaganza in the Brazilian seaside city. With two gold medals in weightlifting, one gold, one silver and three bronze in wrestling and one landmark bronze in taekwondo, Iran finished 25th, which was an eight-step drop from its previous performance in London Olympics 2012.<\/p>\n

Admittedly, Iran’s national freestyle wrestling team achieved its best result since Melbourne Olympics 1956, but more gold medals were expected of them and somehow, the one gold medal in this category won by Hassan Yazdani, even though after 16 years, still left much to be desired.<\/p>\n

Although the end results showed a disappointing performance as compared to the previous Olympic Games where Iran finished 17th with a total of 12 medals, this year\u2019s Olympics was not completely disappointing or devoid of any dramatic merit in certain categories for the Iranian athletes.<\/p>\n

One such dramatic event that took the social media in Iran by storm was the match between Iranian wrestler Komeil Ghasemi and American opponent Tervel Dlagnev in the semifinal of 125kg freestyle wrestling where Ghasemi crushed Dlagnev in only 33 seconds. \u2018You can\u2019t put on your socks in 33 seconds, let alone do five wrestling throws,\u2019 an Iranian tweeted following the surprisingly short match. Unfortunately, Ghasemi\u2019s bout of good luck did not accompany him to the final where he was stripped of an Olympic gold as he lost against his Turkish\u00a0opponent Taha Akgul.<\/p>\n

Weightlifter\u00a0Kianoush Rostami made another highlight during the Olympic Games, as he won Iran\u2019s first medal at Rio Olympics following days of disappointing performances. Eclipsing his own world record set in May by one kilogram, Rostami grabbed\u00a0gold in the men’s\u00a085-kilogram category with a\u00a0world\u00a0record\u00a0after lifting a total of 396 kilograms.<\/p>\n

But perhaps more drama-laced and this time, highly frustrating, story happened in Men’s over 105kg weightlifting division, where Iran’s super heavyweight weightlifter and London Olympics champion Behdad Salimi, while beating the world record in snatch,\u00a0was later disqualified in the clean and jerk by a controversial decision by the jury. Once again, the biased judgment infuriated Iranians\u2019 nationalistic sensibilities to the extent where the website of International Weightlifting Federation was hacked by an anonymous hacker and its Instagram page flooded with over 285,000 comments in support of Salimi as social network users expressed their objections over the unfair refereeing.<\/p>\n

Head of Iran\u2019s National Olympics Committee\u00a0Kiyoumars Hashemi retold the story as this;\u00a0\u201call experts of weightlifting saw on night of August 16 the scope of bias and partiality of the juries under the illegal influence by the head of Asian Weightlifting Federation who had been sitting just behind the jury members; after all 3 lights were white, thus approving Salimi\u2019s second attempt in clean and Jerk sub-category, the jury members renounced their initial decision effectively to deprive a champion of his gold medal which was inevitable.\u201d He went on to add, \u201cincontrovertible evidence is the list of jury members where the name of notorious Mohamed\u00a0Hassan\u00a0Jaloud is missing, but who, along with his wife, exerted undue influence on the final decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

But biased refereeing did not end there for Iranian wrestlers. During the match between Iran\u2019s Reza Yazdani and Azerbaijan\u2019s Khetag Gazyumov, the Russian judge Sergey Novakovskiy did not give Yazdani\u2019s deserving two points. The Russian judge, along with two others, was later suspended by United World Wrestling due to \u2018suspicious manner of judging\u2019 during the controversial refereeing in the match for the bronze medal in the weight category +65kg among men, in which the Mongolian Mandhara Gantrisin lost to Uzbek Ataru Matrosovu.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

But all drama aside, this year\u2019s Olympics had one memorable moment for the Iranian nation to savor, and that was thanks to Kimia Alizadeh\u2019s inspiring achievement of becoming the first Iranian women to ever win an Olympic medal. She took the bronze in the -57kg class of taekwondo, beating Sweden\u2019s\u00a0Nikita Glasnovic 5-1, after defeating opponents from Croatia and Thailand and narrowly losing against Spain\u2019s Eva Gomez who finished with silver against gold medalist Jade Jones of Britain.<\/p>\n

This was a great moment in history for Iranian women, athletes or otherwise, for whom Kimia\u2019s victory touched every corner of their hearts and rekindled the flames of hope for triumph in the face of limitations and hardship.<\/p>\n

The 18-year-old taekwondo\u00a0practitioner, affectionately knowns as the Iranian \u201cTsunami\u201d, had already won a gold and\u00a0bronze medal\u00a0at the 2014 and 2015 Taekwondo World Championship, respectively, and went on to\u00a0win gold\u00a0at the World Taekwondo Grand Prix in August 2015 in Russia.<\/p>\n

The historic bronze that she won at Rio Olympics did not weigh any less than a gold in the eyes of Iranian nation. In fact, many called her medal \u2018the goldest bronze in the history of Iran\u2019s sports\u2019 and there were many tweets with a wordplay on Kimia\u2019s name which means \u2018alchemy\u2019 in Persian, saying that Kimia had in a sense turned her bronze medal into gold. But this trend did not stop at metaphors. Kimia, whose bronze medal was worth gold, was promised to receive $10,000 as cash prize, the same amount for a gold medalist.<\/p>\n

Kimia, who did not just win against her opponents but against limitations and lack of opportunities on her way to victory, was the only Iranian athlete at Rio Olympics to receive a tweet from the President himself: \u201cMy dear girl Kimia, you have brought happiness to all the Iranians, and particularly to the women. I wish you eternal happiness,\u201d President Rouhani said on Friday, the day after Kimia\u2019s historic win.<\/p>\n

The message of Ayatollah Khamenei, Leader of the Islamic Revolution, came on Aug. 23 wherein he hailed Iran\u2019s Rio Olympic delegation for their efforts and victories, and directed a part of his message especially at female athletes \u201cwho displayed an honorable form of hijab as an Iranian code for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Jaberi Ansari also congratulated Alizadeh as well Hedaya Malak of Egypt, who landed the other women\u2019s bronze in taekwondo, in a post on his Instagram page: \u201cThe presence of Kimia and another veiled woman from Egypt on the podium is the symbol of unity and efforts of Muslim women, who shine in new arenas while respecting their values.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shahindokht Molaverdi, Vice-President for Women and Family Affairs, also lauded Kimia for her exemplary hard work, courage and self-confidence; \u201cno doubt this victory will forever stay in the history of this land and the memory of our people, especially the women, and open up brighter horizons for women\u2019s sports during the term of a government that promises \u2018prudence\u2019 and \u2018hope\u2019,\u201d she said in a message.<\/p>\n

The United Nations mission in Iran also commended Alizadeh for her great success, saying such a victory would pave the way for other Iranian female athletes to pursue their dreams in sports.<\/p>\n

Popular Iranian actress Taraneh Alidoosti, known for her role in Asghar Farhadi\u2019s award-winning film \u2018The Salesman\u2019 and \u2018About Elly\u2019, was also among the figures who found Kimia\u2019s victory as the stepping stones for her other compatriots; \u201cThe future will tell what you have achieved for your peers,\u201d tweeted Alidoosti, \u201cYou gave them self-confidence and showed them that (sports) belongs to them as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Kimia, at the tender age of 18, might have been surprised and perhaps a little overwhelmed at the tremendous outpouring of support from such high-ranking officials and the public (her Instagram post after her victory received more 25,000 congratulatory comments), but she was not surprised that she had won a medal. In fact, she was disappointed that it was not a gold one.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was technically and psychologically ready, in fact I had never felt more prepared in my life,\u201d Kimia told Mehr News reporter in Rio, \u201cwith this level of readiness, I expected of myself nothing short of a gold medal. Some people find it hard to believe when they achieve success, but I had faith in myself for coming this far. What I still can\u2019t believe is that I lost to the Spanish athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her frustration is understandable, especially when one realizes that the Olympic Games are not only a sphere to prove your skills and capabilities to yourself and the world, but in many cases, as the athlete is elevated to the level of \u2018ambassador\u2019, they become a challenge, an opportunity, to prove your whole nation to the world, and to give your peers hope that if it had been possible for you to get this far, it would be possible for them to get further.<\/p>\n

And Kimia definitely did that. The situation of women\u2019s sports in Iran and Iranian women athletes is far from ideal, yet far from stagnant and deteriorating. It is true that women\u2019s sports have been going through a rough patch mostly due to economic difficulties that slash budgets, but the situation is improving, and each year, a higher number of women participate in international games.<\/p>\n

The share\u00a0of\u00a0female\u00a0participants in the Olympic Games reached 45 per cent this year. This is while only 16 per cent (9 out of 63) of the Iranian Olympic squad were female. On the other hand, the share of Iranian women athletes has never been this much in any previous Olympics, and the increased share definitely worked in Iran\u2019s favor. With more female participation in the Olympics, one could expect more victories achieved by them, and perhaps this is exactly the kind of jolt women\u2019s sports in Iran need in their ongoing battle to win more recognition and financial and emotional support.<\/p>\n

Kimia\u2019s winning of the first Olympic medal in female sports made many hopeful that the problems currently facing the Iranian athletes would be solved in part.<\/p>\n

It was only last year that Iran women\u2019s national futsal team were on the verge of losing their chance at the 2015 Women\u2019s Futsal World Tournament in Guatemala, due to \u2018budget problems\u2019 and \u2018not enough time to obtain visas\u2019. The decision made by the head of Iranian Football Federation, Ali Kafashian, came under heavy criticism in various media outlets, until President Rouhani became directly involved and the Ministry of Sports and Ministry of Foreign Affairs followed up on the issue so that the problems would be solved and the women\u2019s team could participate in the international event. The team, although did not manage to make it to the quarterfinals at Guatemala games, became a champion in the 2015 AFC Women’s Futsal Championship in Malaysia, as well as the\u00a02012\u00a0and 2008 WAFF Women’s Futsal Championship in Bahrain and Jordan.<\/p>\n

Another more recent example of how women\u2019s sports in Iran receive less budget and recognition was the dissolution of one of the most active\u00a0women’s football team\u00a0called\u00a0Malavan\u00a0(Sailor) due to, once again, \u2018financial problems\u2019. What made the matters worse was a quote by the club CEO Rezaeian in \u2018defense\u2019 of his decision to dissolve the team;\u00a0\u201cwe have many mouths to feed. When a storm-lashed ship is sinking, it starts unloading extra burdens,\u201d the quote went viral on social media and a great number of fans, activists, and female athletes lashed out at what was so obviously a gender discrimination.<\/p>\n

Maryam Irandoost, previous head coach of the team, was completely scandalized by the news of the dissolution of the most decorated team in history of women\u2019s football; \u201cthis will definitely dampen motivation among female athletes,\u201d she said in an interview, while noting that she had been forced to resign from her position as a coach and leave football behind because of the existing problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cI kept telling myself that better days were on their way and our efforts would be seen through championships,\u201d she lamented. \u201cI do believe that such maltreatments and discriminations will have adverse effects on women\u2019s sports community and create a great chasm of despair.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018The better days\u2019 that Irandoost was hoping to see did come, this time in the form of the first Olympic medal achieved by an Iranian women athlete, and it made many hopeful for more inspiriting achievements to come. There is no questioning the fact that the budget allocated to women\u2019s sports must be equal to that of men, and that any financial limitation will hinder the women\u2019s progress in society. But Kimia\u2019s medal radiated beams of hope on the hearts of all who need that little spark of motivation and confidence to take greater steps toward victory.<\/p>\n

Iranian medalists at Rio Olympic Games 2016:<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

\u00a0Gold<\/td>\n	\u00a0Kianoush Rostami<\/td>\n	\u00a0Weightlifting<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s 85 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Gold<\/td>\n	\u00a0Sohrab Moradi<\/td>\n	\u00a0Weightlifting<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s 94 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Gold<\/td>\n	\u00a0Hassan Yazdani<\/td>\n	\u00a0Wrestling<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s freestyle 74 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Silver<\/td>\n	\u00a0Komeil Ghasemi<\/td>\n	\u00a0Wrestling<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s freestyle 125 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Bronze<\/td>\n	\u00a0Saeid Abdevali<\/td>\n	\u00a0Wrestling<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s Greco-Roman 75 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Bronze<\/td>\n	\u00a0Ghasem Rezaei<\/td>\n	\u00a0Wrestling<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s Greco-Roman 98 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Bronze<\/td>\n	\u00a0Kimia Alizadeh<\/td>\n	\u00a0Taekwondo<\/td>\n	\u00a0Women’s 57 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\u00a0Bronze<\/td>\n	\u00a0Hassan Rahimi<\/td>\n	\u00a0Wrestling<\/td>\n	\u00a0Men’s freestyle 57 kg<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" By: Marjohn Sheikhi, MNA:Kimia Alizadeh, an 18-year-old taekwondoka, made history in Iran women\u2019s sports as she became the first Iranian women to ever win a medal at the Olympic Games. The flame of Rio Olympics 2016 went out on Sunday, Aug. 21, with the Iranian squad packing up 8 medals as they returned home from…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2584,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0},"categories":[10,20],"tags":[14,185,217,180,191,207],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2584"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/iranthisway.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}