Saying religion and the Olympic sport of shooting in the same breath may sound unusual but Iranian air rifle coach Zaire, who trains a well-known triumvirate of young shooters in his country, feels their religion drives the bulk of Iranians to take up the sport.
Zaire's famous wards include, among others, Najmeh Khedmati, who has won a gold medal in the 8th Asian Air Gun Championship en route to setting a world record at the Dr Karni Singh Range, Fatemeh Karamzadeh and Maryan Shafiel Pour.
"We are Muslims and our religion advocates the need to engage in sports like shooting and swimming. That motivates us to take up the sport. We believe in that and besides shooting, the same is the case with swimming," Zaire tells PTI.
"It says it's always good to be involved in physical activity and be healthy," he adds.
Zaire is doing his bit for his country by training shooters who are winning laurels in international sporting events in Asia and elsewhere.
And Khedmati is one of them. Though she still shoots in the junior category, the 19-year-old girl has already secured a quota for next year's Rio Olympic Games at the World Cup in Azerbaijan.
The world record she set today in junior air rifle, though, will not be recognised by the International Shooting Sport Federation (ISSF) as the number of participants was less than the required 11 in the qualification.
