TEHRAN - Iranian women won two gold medals, two silvers and a bronze in rowing at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Thursday, with Fatemeh Mojallal making history as the first Iranian woman to win a rowing gold at the Games.
Mojallal won the women’s lightweight single sculls final at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course in 7 minutes, 24.57 seconds. Hong Kong’s Winnie Hung took silver in 7:28.54, while Thailand’s Parisa Chaempudsa was third in 7:40.61.
The result marked the first Asian Games rowing gold for an Iranian woman. Mojallal had previously won silver in the women’s quadruple sculls at the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou.
“I am very happy that I was able to raise my country’s flag and make the dear people of Iran happy,” Mojallal said after her victory. “I got the most valuable medal and I am very happy about that.”
Mojallal said the achievement followed two years of continuous training camps in difficult conditions.
“We have been continuously in camps for two years, training in difficult conditions, in winter and summer,” she said.
She dedicated her medal to Iranian women. “I dedicate my medal to Iranian girls. I hope all the girls of Iran succeed in all fields,” Mojallal said.
Later in the day, Mojallal also won a bronze medal in single sculls as China’s Xinyu Zhang and Uzbekistan’s Anna Prakaten claimed gold and silver in the division.
Iran also added another gold in the women’s lightweight double sculls, where Kimia Zarei and Zeinab Norouzi won in 6:53.93.
The Iranian pair finished 5.31 seconds ahead of Hong Kong’s Cheung Yuen-shan and Leung Wing-wun. Japan’s Chika Yonezawa and Chiaka Tomita took bronze, just 0.03 seconds behind Hong Kong.
Norouzi said the gold followed a demanding preparation.
“I have a very good feeling and it cannot be described,” she said. “We went through very hard training to win this medal and endured a lot of hardship to achieve this valuable medal.”
She dedicated the victory to the Iranian public.
“I dedicate this medal to the dear people of Iran, who have always supported the athletes and whose prayers accompany the Iranian national team members,” Norouzi said. “We always fight for the people of Iran, and this gold medal is for the dear people of Iran.”
The pair also won a silver in the double sculls, clocking 6:55. China’s Wang and Shen claimed the title with a time of 6:45 and Vietnam’s Tran and Pham finished third.
Iran completed its women’s rowing medal haul with silver in the women’s four.
Mahsa Javer, Soha Fakhri, Saqi Maleki and Hangameh Kamyab finished second in 6:27.24. China won gold in 6:23, while Japan took bronze in 6:29.
Meanwhile, Amirhussein Mahmoodpour added another silver to Iran’s tally in lightweight men’s single sculls with a time of 6:52. Hong Kong’s Hin Chiu won the title with 6:50, and South Korea’s Hyunsu Park finished third, clocking 6:53.
The rowing competition is being held at the Nagaragawa International Regatta Course, a straight 2,000-meter course between Aisai in Aichi Prefecture and Kaizu in Gifu Prefecture. The venue hosted the 2005 World Rowing Championships, the first World Rowing Championships held in Asia.
Iran now ranks 5th in the medals table with a haul of six gold, seven silver, and three bronze medals.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games are being held from September 19 to October 4 across venues in Japan, with around 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions competing in 43 sports.
Iran’s delegation, named “Minab Angels”—a tribute to the victims of the US-Israeli attack on Shajareh Tayyebe Elementary School in Minab on February 28—is competing at the Games with 305 athletes across 38 sports.