With the march of athletes from 17 countries Saljooghi hall in Konya, the second zurkhaneh sports world cup began.
Friday afternoon, October 22, with the march of the athletes and athletic delegations from Azerbaijan, South Africa, Afghanistan, Iran, Austria, Ukraine, Belgium, Belarus, Tajikistan, Turkey, Lithuania, Georgia, Iraq, Pakistan, Nepal, India and Switzerland in the 5000-seat hall of Saljooghi sports complex, Konya and the spectacular demonstration of the Iranian para-zurkhaneh team, the second zurkhaneh sports world cup started.
Over 4 days, athletes from 15 nations competed in the team skill, individual skills and the four weights of 60-70, 70-80, 80-90, and 90+ of Koshti Pahlavani. And based on the total scores, Islamic Republic of Iran national team with 1751 scores won the championship; Afghanistan national team with 1567 scores won the second place; and Iraq with 1435 and Azerbaijan Republic with 1372 scores commonly won the third place. The second zurkhaneh sports world cup, both qualitatively and quantitatively, showed a remarkable growth compared with the first games held in Baku in 2009; and the number of participants from 80 referees, athletes, mentors and coaches from 7 countries reach 160 referees, athletes, mentors, coaches and special guests from 17 countries. And these games attracted tremendous attention from national as well as international media in Turkey, Iran and other countries in the region
Zurkhaneh: Sport of Values
At the opening ceremony of this competition, Mohsen Mehralizadeh, IZSF president, said: “Zurkhaneh sport is the sport of values, and this spiritual legacy has a unique status among world sports.He added: “Establishment of peace and friendship and reaching perfection through zurkhaneh sports is one of the special goals of this sport.
Zurkhaneh sport is based on moral values
Mohammad Anwar Jakdalek, Afghan vice-president and the president of the Asian Zurkhaneh Confederation, said: “In the culture of this civilization territory, heroic sport has a specific place, and since it is founded on moral values, the younger generation eagerly pursues it.”IZSF vice-president emphasized that: “With this selection, the directorate pursued two objectives; first commemoration of the heroism and it preference to athleticism, and second, absorbing turkey into the zurkhaneh international family.”
2010 world cup: construction of zurkhaneh in Turkey
Hitam Korkmaz Cetinkaya, in charge of holding the second zurkhaneh sports world cup in Konya, said: “Konya is where Mevlana’s tomb is located and Mevlana has had an effective role in the culture and creed of championship. And since this creed is one of the most significant features of zurkhaneh sports, we implemented the IZSF decision and succeeded in holding the games at a satisfactory level. Hitam said: “In order to institutionalize zurkhaneh in Turkey, 20 provinces must become active which requires holding seminars and training courses as well as providing the equipment for this sport.”
The founder of zurkhaneh in Turkey added: “We have requested IZSF to hold common training courses with Georgia in the current year.” Hitam Cetinkaya said: “We have also submitted the recommendation for holding the third world cup in Anthelia, Turkey from November 17 to 20, 2011, and we hope our request to be host will be accepted.”
With the support of Azerbaijan republic;
Georgia and Turkey joined the international family of zurkhaneh
Seyed Hadi Arabi, Sec. Gen. of Azerbaijan Zurkhaneh Sports Federation, said: “Thanks to the efforts of this federation and support from IZSF, we succeeded in building zurkhaneh in Georgia.” Arabi said: “IZSF assigned Azerbaijan federation and I the mission of assessing the facilities and help Turkey with holding the second zurkhaneh sports world cup.”
Citation of the best of 2009 second zurkhaneh sports world cup
IZSF, which was founded in Tehran on October 11, 2004, entered its sixth year of operation by holding the second zurkhaneh sports world cup in Konya.
On the anniversary of its foundation, this federation introduces the best athletes of the year. Turkish world cup was a favorable opportunity for acknowledging the best of 2009 before the IZSF members.
Visiting the tombs of Mevlana and Shams Tabrizi
During the second zurkhaneh sports world cup in Konya, the participants visited Mevlana’s tomb and also watched sama dance at Mevlana hall.
In this ceremony, especial quests from different countries, athletes, coaches, and referees became familiar with the life of Mevlana and Shams Tabrizi.