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| Iran's Kimia Alizadeh with her bronze medal in Rio de Janeiro on August 18, 2016 ©Kirill Kudryavtsev (AFP) |
Iran on Friday cheered
Kimia Alizadeh who became the first Iranian woman ever to win an Olympic medal
with President Hassan Rouhani leading the praise over her taekwondo bronze.
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Thailand's
Phannapa Harnsujin (left) competes against Kimia Alizadeh in a repechage bout
on August 18, 2016 in Rio ©Kirill Kudryavstev (AFP)
|
"My
daughter Kimia, you have triggered the happiness of all the Iranians, and
particularly of the women. I wish you eternal joy," the president tweeted.
The
message is accompanied by a picture showing Alizadeh, 18, draped in the Iranian
flag celebrating her Thursday victory in Rio, where she clinched bronze by
beating Nikita Glasnostic of Sweden 5-1 in the taekwondo under-57kg division.
Even
conservatives voiced their satisfaction over the teenager's win.
Fars
news agency, which is close to the deeply conservative camp in Iran, hailed
"Kimia who made history" and said in a report that the bronze medal
she won "is worth gold".
"What
an honour... to be the first," wrote Fars, describing Kimia as the
"lionness of Iran" and adding that "one must be a woman to
totally feel this moment with pride".
In
keeping with Iran's strict Muslim custom, the teenager competed wearing a head
scarf over with her taekwondo uniform and protective gear.
Foreign
Ministry spokesman Hossein Jaberi Ansari congratulated Alizadeh as well Hedaya
Malak of Egypt, who landed the other women's bronze in taekwondo, in a
statement on his Instagram page.
He
said the presence on the podium of the two veiled women was the "symbol of
the unity and the efforts of Muslim women, who shine and yet respect their
values".
Alizadeh's
victory was also celebrated on social networks by many of her compatriots,
including popular actress Taraneh Alidoosti who sparked debate in Iran this
year after she was pictured with a "woman power" symbol tattooed on
her arm.
"The
future will tell what you have achieved for your peers," tweeted
Alidoosti.
"You
have bolstered their faith and showed them that (sports) belongs to them as
well," she wrote.
Iranian
women are banned from entering stadiums for major sporting events, including
football, as part of a male-female segregation ushered in by Iran's 1979
Islamic revolution.
In
1992, Lida Fariman was the first Iranian woman to compete at the Olympics in
Barcelona in shooting.
This
year, the Iran team at the Olympics comprised nine women out of a total of 41
athletes.
Alizadeh
told Iranian television she was very excited about her victory in Rio and hopes
Iranian women will be able to clinch gold at the next Olympics.
Her
father was likewise elated.
"I
hope that the Iranian people appreciate what Kimia has achieved," Keyvan
Alizadeh told Mehr news agency. "She gave herself 100 percent".
He said an injury had
prevented the young woman from grabbing the gold.
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