Darts continues to thrive in Iran with more than 500,000 men, women and children playing the sport on a regular basis. Recently, for the first time ever, the sport of darts was included in the prestigious Iranian Sports Olympiad and proved very successful.
The Olympiad is held annually under the auspices of the President, Deputy and Head of Physical Training Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran and involves forty-four different branches of sport. It is organised with the specific aim of increasing the quality and level of sportsmanship in that country and is totally funded by the Iranian Government.
Darts tournaments within the sports Olympiad were staged in July 2008 for both Iranian men and women. Twenty-seven men’s and twenty-eight women’s teams participated in the tournament that was held in the city of Garmsar in central Iran.
In the men’s series, winning teams represented Fars, Gilan, Markazi and Khorasan Razavi, whilst the women’s winners were teams from Khorasan Razavi, Tehran, Fars and Markazi. In the individual competition the winner was Mr. Monsour Mohajelin (Fars) with Mr. Ali Jamshidi (Gilan) runner-up. In the women’s individual section the winner was Ms. Shaghayegh Ghadirinejad (Tehran) with Ms. Roya Shafei (Khorasan Razavi) the runner-up.
The photographs show the Iranian ladies darts players in action and the winning men’s team with (front row, centre) Amin Azizpour, Managing Director of the Islamic Republic of Iran Darts Association, and other officials. Mr. Azizpour told Darts World, “The darts tournament was very successful and its inclusion in the Olympiad shows how popular and important the sport is becoming in our country.”
© 2008 Patrick Chaplin
(Photos courtesy of the Islamic Republic of Iran Darts Association)
Dr Patrick Chaplin 