Press TV - Iranian sportsmen and women are displayingoutstanding 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 NarjesEmamgholinejadand Elaheh Ahmadi impressed the audience at the Baku Shooting Center in the Azerbaijani capital city of Baku, and collected two medals, including one gold.
Emamgholinejadaccumulated 249.6 points at the end of the womens 10-meter air pistol eventto 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. Im feeling great. I had tried very hard to put in an excellent performanceduring todays contests. Thanks God, I could produce the desired result. I extend my gratitude to my teammates, coaches and managers over this achievement, Emamgholinejadsaid 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 Iranianmen's nationalswimming 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 whileIndonesia landed in the second spot.
Irans 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.
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Iranian karateka Nasrin Dousti rejoices after finishing first at the end of the womens minus 50-kilogram kumite contests in the 4th edition of Islamic Solidarity Games, Baku, Azerbaijan, on May 13, 2017.[/caption]Irans Nasrin Dousti participated in the womens 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 mens minus 60-kilogram kumite division, Amir Mehdizadeh could earn a bronze medal.
Uzbekistans 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 womens kumite minus 55-kilogram and minus 61-kilogram categories respectively.
Iranian judo practitioner Alireza Khojasteh also added a bronze to Irans medal tally in the mens minus 66-kilogram section.
The 4thIslamic Solidarity Gamesstarted 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 33, 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.
