Iran’s Tavakoli wins Asian indoor athletics gold
Iranian women continued their impressive run on the third and final day of the Asian Indoor Athletics Championships in Tehran, collecting two more medals including one gold.
On Saturday, Sepideh Tavakoli put in a record-breaking performance in the women’s pentathlon competitions to grab the gold medal with 4038 points, setting a new national record.
Athletes from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan settled for the silver and bronze, respectively.
“I’m really happy to have won this medal on my home soil. I just want to dedicate this medal to my husband, my family and of course the dear people of my country,” Tavakoli said after winning the gold in Tehran.
The gold medal took Tavakoli’s personal tally to two medals at the competitions as she had already won a silver medal at women’s high jump.
Also on the final day of the competitions, Iran’s four-a-side team comprising Maryam Mohebbi, Faezeh Nessaei, Elham Kakoli and Haniyeh Samari took the silver in the women’s 4x400m relay contests after finishing the final in 3:51.39 minutes which also marked a new country record.
Kazakhstan won the gold while Turkmenistan finished third.
Iranian women managed to put in a successful campaign at the championships, finishing the tournament with eleven glittering medals and also four new national records.
On Friday, Milad Miri and Ali Mohebbi, representing Iran in the men’s heptathlon, won the silver and bronze in the final contest, respectively, as Kuwait’s Majed al-zaed won the gold medal.
The tournament has reportedly brought together 360 men and women from 22 countries, including China, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.