Poupak Basami wrote her name into the history book as the first Iranian woman who participated in the Asian Weightlifting Championships.
Basami took part at the 55 kg weight category and failed to win anything but made history as the first Iranian woman participating in the Asian championships.
She is the first but is not the only Iranian woman in the event as six other women have traveled to Ningbo, China to partake in the prestigious competition.
Iranian men’s weightlifters are well-known in the sport and have won eight gold medals at Olympics so far. Mohammad Jafar Salmasi won Iran’s first Olympic medal at 1948 Summer Olympics.
However, the Iranian women’s weightlifters have a long road ahead and it seems female development program launched by Iran’s Weightlifting Federation last year will help them to do more in the near future.
Basami originally competed in basketball and was playing in Iran’s Super League in the past years but changed her sport.
The Iranian sportswomen have shown that they have the potential to make the nation proud after shining in the international events in the last years.
The women’s futsal team have won the back-to-back titles in the Asian Futsal Championship and women’s kabaddi won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games after beating world giants India in the final match in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Kimia Alizadeh became the first Iranian woman to win a medal at the Olympic Games after claiming a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro.
Archer Zahra Nemati won a gold and a bronze medal at the 2012 Paralympic Games and a gold and a silver medal four years later in Rio.
Shooter Sareh Javanmardi also won a bronze in London and two gold medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games.
President Hassan Rouhani has recently said that supporting women’s sports are top priorities for the government and it’s the time to see a bright future for the Iranian women.