Iran's First Female Gymnast at the Asian Games: Dress Code Was an Obstacle to Our Progress

Hengameh Hadiani, Iran's first female gymnast to compete at the Asian Games after the revolution, said that dress code was one of the past obstacles to the progress of Iranian women in this discipline. She says the barrier has been removed and that they can now continue on this path while wearing the hijab.

Iran's first female gymnast in the Asian Games stated that if I had the opportunity to participate in more international competitions, I would have definitely achieved a different result in Nagoya.

Hengeme Hadiani, appearing in the editorial office of Ambassador Arjan, said: My sister was active in gymnastics and was the champion of the country. When I was seven years old, my sister had just started gymnastics and I became interested in this field after seeing her. Choosing gymnastics was my decision; Even the family was somewhat doubtful about the future of this discipline, but I continued gymnastics with interest and insistence.

Stating that I never want to leave the national gymnastics team, he continued: In the last 6 months when the women's national gymnastics team was formed, I was in the national team from the beginning and I worked hard during this time. After all these years, I have reached this point and I don't want to leave gymnastics and the national team at all.

In response to the question that if you go back to the age of seven, would you still choose gymnastics, the first female representative of the Asian Gymnastics Championships after the revolution said: Yes, I would definitely choose gymnastics. Because I like gymnastics very much and I don't think I can replace it with another discipline.

He said about his feelings about being the first Iranian female artistic gymnast who participated in Asian competitions after the revolution: I felt very good. Along with excitement, there was also stress; Because I had a heavy responsibility. I was the first girl to participate in these competitions after the revolution, and I felt that I should open the way for other girls and be a good representative for Iran and the country's gymnastics. It was a heavy responsibility, but I felt good about reaching my goal.

The level of Asian competitors in gymnastics was very high

About the difference between him and other Asian competitors in Nagoya, Hadiani clarified: The differences were huge. Many of our competitors had participated in international competitions from the age of 10 or even earlier and had experience competing at a high level. They operated with proper equipment and in good training conditions, but we did not have such conditions.

He added: It was 6 months before the competition that we realized that we have the possibility to participate in competitions abroad. It is natural that our conditions are different from the athletes who have participated in international competitions for many years, and we did not have enough experience of the atmosphere of these competitions. Iran's level of gymnastics was different from that of Asia, and the way of holding competitions was also a new experience for us. For this reason, participating in these competitions was accompanied by many challenges.

I could have done better in Nagoya

Iran's first female gymnast in the Asian Games, in response to the question of whether she is satisfied with the 13th place in the Nagoya Asian Games, said: I could have achieved a better result; But I have done my best and I will continue to try to perform better. If I have the opportunity to participate in these competitions again, I will definitely use the experience I gained to perform better.

He added: I tell the girls who dream of participating in the Asian Games not to give up on their dreams; Because they will definitely reach them one day.

Referring to the most important obstacle for Iranian girls to reach the first level of Asia in gymnastics, Hadiani emphasized: until now, the type of clothing was one of the main obstacles in the field of gymnastics; Because the coverage used in the World Championships was different from the coverage we had to follow. Thank God that this obstacle has been removed and now we can walk on this path with our hijab.

participation in Asian competitions; A dream that I achieved

He explained about the preparatory camps and competitions before sending to the Asian Games in Nago: National gymnastics team camps were held only in Tehran. For about 6 months, I went to Tehran and returned to Mashhad almost every two weeks to participate in the camps. In terms of preparatory competitions, we only participated in one competition, which was the Asian Championship held in China in June. We did not participate in camps like those in Baku or Türkiye, and trainings were held only in Tehran.

A member of the women's national gymnastics team, emphasizing the difficulty of the road to Nagoya, said: "When I went to Tehran to participate in camps, I was alone in a room; Because only I was sent to this tournament. I experienced these conditions for about 6 months and during this time, I was constantly on the way to and from.

He added: On the way to Nagoya, there were obstacles and problems that I had to overcome. In addition, I was sent without a coach and was completely alone in Nagoya. However, the joy of reaching our goal was much more than the difficulties of the path; Because participating in the Asian Games was a dream that I finally achieved.

Khorasan Razavi gymnastics has a lot of development capacity

About the capacities of Khorasan Razavi gymnastics, Hadiani stated: Definitely, Khorasan Razavi gymnastics has the capacity to improve. We have good athletes in the province. Although some of my peers gave up gymnastics for a while, the new generation has good ability. I hope that the facilities will improve and these gymnasts will be able to work in suitable training conditions to reach a good position.

Pointing out that Iran's women's gymnastics has not had a stable position at the international level, he continued: One of the main reasons for this shaky position of women's gymnastics is the lack of continuous participation in international competitions. In the years when we did not participate in these competitions, the level of domestic competitions was naturally lower than foreign games. When the athlete does not participate in serious competitions, he does not get much opportunity to improve.

This member of the national women's gymnastics team continued: national gymnastics competitions were not held regularly. I did not participate in a competition since the post-Corona era until last year; Because basically, there were not enough competitions. These conditions caused the motivation of athletes to decrease and the opportunity to grow was taken away from them. Now the situation has improved. In the past 6 months, you can see the progress in the gymnastics level of the country and see that the athletes and officials have tried to improve the conditions.

standard equipment; The most important demand from the gymnastics federation

He emphasized: The main demand from the federation is facilities. Our most important need is proper gymnastics facilities. We need standard tools and equipment, including proper vaults and mattresses. I hope the next generation will receive more support and better facilities will be provided to them. When we see gymnasiums in other countries, we notice the difference in equipment. Their equipment is healthy and they use standard and advanced mattresses; But we do not have such facilities.

Hadiani said about the worst injury of his sports career: I have had many injuries during my sports career. For example, once I injured my leg tendon and was away from competitions for a while. But perhaps the most severe injury was related to the fracture of the heel; So that this area was severely damaged and I could not walk for about 6 months. Fortunately, the surgery was successful and the doctors said I could go back to sports.

To the question of whether these injuries did not make you give up and give up gymnastics, he answered: No; Because reaching this point has been one of the most important goals of my life. I always wanted to get here. On the way to the goal, why should I regret it or retreat due to difficulties? For this reason, I never regretted or gave up.

The member of the national women's gymnastics team said that if I had the opportunity to participate in more international competitions, I would have definitely achieved a different result in Nagoya. Even the amount of stress has an effect on the result; When you are more familiar with the competition atmosphere, the stress will be less and you will be able to perform better.

He stated: I would like Hadiani to be remembered as the first in the future. I am the first girl gymnast in Iran who was able to participate in the Asian Games after the revolution. This topic and being the first title can be a good reason for people to remember my name.

Looking at the Olympics as a serious goal; not a dream

About his next goals in gymnastics, Hadiani said: The main goal is to reach the podium and win a medal in the next Asian Games. I also want to participate in the World and Olympic Games and I will try to achieve these goals. I hope I can reach this position and I look at the Olympics as a serious goal.

Emphasizing that sports have always been the first priority in my life, he continued: Sports is an important part of my life, but besides that, I do other things. I didn't want to continue my education only in the field of sports, so I chose journalism. Because I wanted to learn other arts and have different experiences. However, sports have always been the first priority in my life, but I try to balance between different parts of my life.

The member of the national women's gymnastics team stated: Yes, it was definitely like that, in response to the fact that you needed more effort to reach the first level of Asia because you are a girl. The training conditions that were provided for boys did not exist for girls, and this issue was seen from the very beginning of my career. When I started gymnastics, the gym was available to the boys every day, and the girls only had three to four hours to train in the gym.

He added: More attention and facilities were given to boys and girls were on the sidelines. On the other hand, before, international gymnastics competitions for women were not held and the presence of girls in this field was not taken seriously. These conditions made me feel that I should try harder and prove that I can reach the same position as the boys and perform well despite all the obstacles.

Referring to the support provided along this path, Hadiani stated: The Khorasan Razavi Gymnastics Board and the Gymnastics Federation provided a lot of support during the 6 months that I became a member of the national team, and they worked to smooth this path so that finally conditions were provided so that we could participate in international competitions. The support of my coach and family also made me reach this point.