Iranian rifle shooters win gold medal against odds
Iranian women’s rifle team
By Nam Hyun-woo
GWANGJU ― For the Iranian women’s rifle team, they turned a huge disadvantage in their favor in preparation for the 2015 Gwangju Universiade.
The country now sits in12th place in the medal standings for the event, thanks to two gold medals and two bronzes from the rifle event.
On Tuesday, Mahlagha Jambozorg posted 623.5 in the women’s 50m rifle competition to beat Korean shooters Kim Mi-so and Yoo Seo-young.
Yoo set the world record in the women’s 50m rifle 3 positions at the ISSF World Cup in Munich two months ago. Najmeh Khedmati also clinched a gold medal in the women's 10m air rifle event two days earlier.
The Iranians were not able to import their own ammunition for training due to an U.N. arms embargo on most conventional weapons since 2010, following the country’s alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.
A day before the deadline for the nuclear deal between Tehran and the world powers, Iran pushed the U.N. to lift the embargo.
Since ammunition for rifle competitions are produced by a limited number of countries, including Germany, the Iranians had to travel abroad to buy their supplies.
However, the amount they could purchase was limited, allowing them to only fire a loaded rifle once per week.
During the other training days, they fired unloaded rifles. Though they practiced stance, posture and breathing skills, what they heard after pulling the trigger was simply a click sound. Neither could they check their scores.
Despite the unfavorable conditions, the Iranians have clearly prospered in international rifle competitions.
At the 2014 Asian Games in Incheon, South Korea, Khedmati and Narjes Andevari Emamgholinejad won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the women's 10m air rifle individual events. Khedmati, who was 18 at that time, displayed a jaw-dropping performance, shooting almost all her 20 shots over 10 points.
On Sunday’s competition, Khedmati stood out again by shooting 206.6 points, setting the Universiade record.