@Sargon of Akkad,
That picture is indeed zurkhaneh sport/tradition. Zurkhaneh means house of strenght/power.
I wanted to add that taekwondo is not our tradition, but today Iran is one of the best in Taekwondo. So the best way is using the national traditions/experience in some sports and investing in and developing the sports which are less popular.
I saw once Iraqi national wrestling team being trained by an Iranian coach. So like any sport you can give contract to coaches who have experience in some sport.
It's indeed strange that KSA has less competitors than Bahrain. You would think that bigger economy and bigger population would bring more competitors to olympic games and win more medals.
I saw a documentary once where they showed this sport and tradition in action in Isfahan. It was an documentary in Arabic about Iran where they mostly covered the West and South of the country. For instance they visited the Iranian Arab community and areas of Iran where they are present. It was an quite interesting documentary.
Ok, I did not know about that. Well that would make sense as Taekwondo is a somewhat related sport, at least when it comes to wrestling. I guess the next goal could be boxing.
Anyway most Olympic medals can be won in the disciplines of swimming and athletics but the competition there is very strong so it is much harder.
Well if/when relations between GCC (wider Arab world too) and Iran improve (eventually they probably will, lol) such a policy would be a good thing. If not Iranian coaches then coaches from say former USSR republics. Theoretically it could have been done DECADES ago if people (rulers, decision makers) in the GCC really wanted but the interest/tradition is simply not there. However that can always be established as argued for earlier. So it is mostly about will, politics and planning.
Anyway KSA has many restrictions due to a few moronic clerics who consider all sport a waste of time. They have for example made life horrible for women and many people who like sports. It is a scandal but there is nothing to do other than waiting for them to die of old age/change. People have wanted such changes since forever. You hear some encouraging news from time to time but often it ends in nothing.
An example. Next year the situation will likely be the same.
AGENCIES | Published — Tuesday 2 August 2016
Princess Reema — Honored to serve Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s Cabinet appointed a prominent princess to head a new department for women under the Kingdom’s General Authority for Sports in a move that could signal greater female access to sports.
The announcement, made after the weekly Cabinet session Monday evening, offered no details about Princess Reema bin Bandar’s role.
“I am honored to serve my nation,” SPA quoted Princess Reema as saying.
The Kingdom is sending four female athletes to the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro, marking the second time that Saudi women will participate in the Olympics.
These sportswomen include marathon runner Sarah Al-Attar, judoka Wujud Fahmi, fencer Lubna Al-Omair and 100m runner Cariman Abu Al-Jadail.
Both Attar and Fahmi were returning to the Games after they became the country’s first female Olympians in London four years ago.
In a first in 2014, a Saudi state school introduced sports for girls, after a call for lifting a ban on women in sports.
The General Authority for Sports’ website lists no details about its activities or mission. A separate government portal shows the agency is responsible for issuing licenses to establish new sports centers and handles youth registration in sports.
In a decree in May, King Salman ordered the General Presidency for Youth Welfare to be renamed the General Authority for Sports. The former body had sponsored cultural and sports activities for youth.
In April last year, the king sacked the most senior woman in government, Nora Al-Fayez, from her post as deputy education minister for girls. She was strongly pushing to try to get physical education on the curriculum for girls in public schools.
Princess Reema, whose father Prince Bandar bin Sultan served as Saudi ambassador to Washington for more than two decades until 2005, is a graduate of George Washington University with a degree specializing in museum studies, Islamic art and architecture. In the Kingdom, she is widely known for having served as chief executive officer of the upscale Harvey Nichols department store in the capital, Riyadh, which was among the first retailers to hire women as sales clerks.
http://www.arabnews.com/node/963601/sports
Wujud Fahmi (that big Judoka) is of Indonesian origin. Around 500.000 Saudi Arabians are of Indonesian/Malaysian origin, lol. This is the second olympics were women from KSA even participate. 4 women have participated in total only.
I think that, although there are restrictions in Iran, they are not as bad on this front at least.
The problem with KSA is that many people are too conservative (they often compete who is more conservative) and stick to moronic recent laws that have nothing to do with culture or traditions. It is thanks to a few powerful and radical/extremist clerics who I believe are mentally challenged. Then they brainwash people who give similar views to their children.
KSA only has 14 athletes and I believe that Bahrain has almost 40 but 20% of them (if not more) are not really native Bahrainis but people who have lived in Bahrain for some years or who have become neutralized. Earlier today I saw an Black 100 meter runner who competed for Turkey and he was apparently from Jamaica and he had become neutralized. Anyway this policy is only followed by 3 Arab states. Bahrain, Qatar and UAE. This is probably due to the huge amount of money they have (not Bahrain), much lesser restrictions than in KSA and the interests of people in sports and professional leagues in those countries that attract foreigners who later become neutralized if they are good enough. Most importantly, probably, there small native populations. No other Arab countries have such a policy but actually quite a few countries worldwide have such policies. I am not really a fan of it but I have nothing to say about it.
