Recently Time Magazine did a piece called “100 Olympic Athletes To Watch.” In number 22 they have highlighted Sara Khoshjamal, a 19 year old Iranian Taekwondo champion. She beat the world’s number 1 last March to secure a spot for herself in the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The follwing is what Time Magazine has written about her.
Our best wishes go to her and the rest of Iranian athletes.
“Khoshjamal is the Iranian female heroine of the moment after qualifying for Beijing in Taekwondo. In keeping with Iran’s conservative religious rules, Khoshjamal trains and competes wearing a headscarf and a protective helmet and is the first Iranian woman to qualify for the Olympics. Iranian girls are cheering her on; huge posters of Khoshjamal adorn the Taekwondo Federation, a popular sport for Iranian females practiced by more than 120,000 girls. Khoshjamal, who in line with traditions is prohibited from training with men, trains in her living room with her older brothers. Last March in Vietnam she beat the world’s No. 1, securing her cherished ticket to China.” More…