Tag Archives: Youth

Undefeated Iran is Youth Volleyball World Champion 2017

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Iran succeeded in their gold medal hunt as they defeated Russia 3-1, winning its second title in the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship. Japan defeated South Korea for the bronze medal. Amir Hossein Esfandiar from Iran was elected the MVP and Amir Hossein Toukhteh was selected in the tournament’s dream team.

Porya Yali, Morteza Sharifi and Amirhossein Esfandiar dominated in offence as they combined for 54 of Iran’s 59 attacks. Yali led Iran in scoring with 29 points, Sharifi charted 19 points and was Iran’s most efficient hitter, while Esfandiar played consistently across all skill sets. Maksim Sapozhkov, who came off the bench in the second set, top scored for Russia with 16 points.

RESULTS (Iran)
Iran 3 : 2 Italy (25-16, 23-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-12) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Mexico (25-19, 25-12, 25-18) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 China (25-23, 25-18, 25-21) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Czech Republic (25-22, 25-12, 25-19) – Pool D
Iran 3 : 0 Turkey (25-18, 25-21, 25-13) – Round of 16
Iran 3 : 0 Brazil (25-21, 25-20, 25-15) – Quarterfinals
Iran 3 : 0 South Korea (25-23, 25-20, 25-18) – Semifinals
Russia 1 : 3 Iran (20-25, 23-25, 25-21, 20-25) – Final

Iranian team posing with their medals. Photo source fivb.com
Amir Hossein Toukhteh (best middle blocker, Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (best outside spiker, Russia), Artem Melnikov (best middle blocker, Russia), Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP and best outside spiker, Iran), Shunsuke Nakamura (best setter, Japan), Im Donghyeok (best opposite spiker, Korea) and Kenta Ichikawa (best libero, Japan). Photo source fivb.com
Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran) – Gold medal winner, MVP and best outside spiker. Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Porya Yali’s 29 points helped Iran to take down European powerhouse Russia to win gold. Photo source facebook.com-FIVB.InternationalVolleyballFederation
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Individual honors: Best Outside Spikers – Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia) and Amirhosseini Esfandiar (MVP, Iran). Photo credit Payam Sani, volleyball.ir / IRNA
Iranian team waiting for their gold medals. Photo source fivb.com
Iranian team celebrating after defeating Russia in the final 3 to 1. Photo source Payam Sani, YJC
Iranian team welcomed at the airport in Tehran. Photo credit BORNA

DREAM TEAM
Most Valuable Player: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran)
Best Outside Spikers: Amirhosseini Esfandiar (Iran), Pavel Tetyukhin (Russia)
Best Middle Blockers: Artem Melnikov (Russia), Amir Hossein Toukhteh (Iran)
Best Setter: Shunsuke Nakamura (Japan)
Best Opposite Spiker: Im Donghyeok (South Korea)
Best Libero: Kenta Ichikawa (Japan)

The 2017 FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship was the fifteenth edition of the world championship for men’s national teams under the age of 19. The tournament was hosted by Bahrain in Riffa from 18 to 27 August 2017. 20 teams from the 5 confederations competed in the tournament.

Sources: FIVB | U19 Boys 2017 (News), Wikipedia | 2017 FIVB Boys’ U19 World Championship, Young Journalists Club, Borna News, IRNA

Iranian students win 10 medals at chemistry and math Olympiads

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Iranian high school students received two gold, three silver, and one bronze medals in the 58th International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO 2017) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Out of 111 countries, the Iranian team achieved fifth place after South Korea, Vietnam, China and USA.

Earlier this month, Iran ranked third in the 49th Chemistry Olympiad (IChO 2017), behind Taiwan and the USA. The event, that was held in Nakhon Pathom, Thailand hosted 297 students from 76 countries.

Team Iran at IMO 2017
Gold medal winners: Amir Mojtaba Sabur and Aryo Lotfi Jandaghi
Silver medal winners: Seyed Mahdavi Tikdari, Taha Miranzadeh and Farhood Rostamkhani
Bronze medal winner: Soroush Taslimi

Team Iran at IChO 2017
Gold medal winners: Amirabbas Kazeminia, Hossein Behnoush and Parsa Pirouz
Silver medal winner: Soroush Baniani

The best placed Iranian participant in the IMO’s hall of fame is Maryam Mirzakhani, the first and to-date only female winner of the Fields Medal since its inception in 1936. She earned a gold medal in 1994 and in 1995 she notched a perfect score and another gold medal, as the first female to compete with Iran’s International Mathematical Olympiad team.

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit 58th International Mathematical Olympiad, Facebook
Tehran, Iran. Photo credit: IRNA
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit 58th International Mathematical Olympiad, Facebook
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Photo credit Sakulsuk Unarunotai, Facebook
Nakhon Pathom, Thailand. Photo credit Sakulsuk Unarunotai, Facebook
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit bigschool.vn
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Photo credit bigschool.vn

The International Mathematical Olympiad (IMO) is an annual six-problem mathematical olympiad for pre-college students, and is the oldest of the International Science Olympiads. The first IMO was held in Romania in 1959.

The International Chemistry Olympiad, one of the International Science Olympiads, is an annual academic competition for high school students. The first IChO was held 1968 in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

Sources: imo-official.org I, imo-official.org II, Wikipedia | IMO, Facebook @IMO2017Rio, bigschool.vn, icho2017.sc.mahidol.ac.th, Tehran Times, Wikipedia | IChO, Facebook @sak.otai

Easter 2017 in Iran (Photos)

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This Easter was celebrated by all Christian denominations on the same day, which is unusual. The date usually differs, often even by weeks, between Eastern and Western Christianity, since the calculations are based on the Julian calendar and Gregorian calendar respectively.

Like last Christmas, Muslims in Abadan joined on Easter Sunday the single Christian family in the city at Surp Karapet Church.

The majority of Iranian Christians are ethnic Armenians and Assyrians, who follow the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Assyrian Church of the East respectively. Armenians celebrate the Nativity and baptism of Jesus on January 6, at the same time as the Epiphany. The Assyrians today celebrate Christmas on December 25.

St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit IRNA
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Grigor Lusavoritch, Armenian Catholic Church in Tehran – Photo credit Erfan Kouchari, TASNIM
St. Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Photo credit Mohammadreza Abbasi, MEHR
St. Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Photo credit Mohammadreza Abbasi, MEHR
St. Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Photo credit Mohammadreza Abbasi, MEHR
St. Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Photo credit Mohammadreza Abbasi, MEHR
St. Sarkis Cathedral, Tehran – Photo credit Mohammadreza Abbasi, MEHR

Photos: St. Grigor Lusavoritch Church and St. Sarkis Cathedral in Tehran

Sources: Tasnim News, IRNA, Mehr News, Fars News, Payvand News, Wikipedia

Iran wins gold at U18 Asian Basketball Championships (Photos)

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Iran have been crowned champions of the 2016 FIBA Asia U18 Championship after beating Japan 71-65 in the final held at Azadi Basketball Hall in Tehran. It is the third time Iran have won the title of this competition after previous wins in 2004 and 2008.

The hosts lost to Japan and Korea in the group stage, but dethroned the three-time reigning champions China in the quarterfinals and won against Korea in the semifinals. Korea got past Lebanon 86-63 in the 3rd Place Game.

Iran, Japan and Korea will represent Asia at the 2017 FIBA Under-19 World Championship in Egypt.

Sources: IRNA, FIBA 1, FIBA 2, Wikipedia | 2016 FIBA Asia Under-18 Championship

Iran wins gold at World Youth Chess Olympiad (Photos)

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The World Youth under-16 Chess Olympiad 2016 was held in Slovakia from July 21st to July 30th and attracted 261 players from 40 countries.

Iran faced Slovakia 2, Austria, Canada, Hungary, Armenia, Russia, Belarus, Serbia and Romania. Parham Maghsoodloo, Alireza Firouzja, FM Aryan Gholami, Arash Tahbaz, WFM Anahita Zahedifar and team captain Khosro Harandi finished first winning gold for Iran for the second consecutive year. Silver went to Russia and bronze to Armenia.

The Iranian team achieved very good performances in recent years at this event: 2016 (1st), 2015 (1st), 2014 (3rd), 2013 (8th), 2012 (2nd) and 2011 (3rd). As of August 2016, Iran has five top 100 junior players (FIDE).

Iranian team results after each round
Round 1 – Iran 4 : 0 Slovakia 2
Round 2 – Austria 2 : 2 Iran
Round 3 – Iran 4 : 0 Canada
Round 4 – Hungary 1 : 3 Iran
Round 5 – Iran 3 : 1 Armenia
Round 6 – Russia 1 : 3 Iran
Round 7 – Belarus 1 : 3 Iran
Round 8 – Iran 3 ½ : ½ Serbia
Round 9 – Iran 2 ½ : 1 ½ Romania

Sources: World Youth Chess Olympiad (WYCO) 2016 (Gallery), WYCO 2016 (Results by country), WYCO 2016 (Best players by board), FIDE (Top 100 junior players – Aug. 2016)

Iran wins multiple medals at Asian Youth Chess Championship 2016 in Mongolia

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The Asian Youth Chess Championship 2016 was held in April in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. More than 470 players from 18 countries competed in blitz, rapid and classical chess.

Iran got twenty three top 10 spots and took home a total of eight medals. Artin Ashraf was the most succesful Iranian player winning two times gold (u8 Open, u8 Open Rapid) and Mobina Alinasab was the most succesful Iranian girl winning one gold and one silver medal (u16 Girls, u16 Girls Blitz). Mersad Khodashenas won one gold and one bronze (u18 Open, u18 Open Blitz), Arash Tahbaz one gold (u16 Open), Mahdi Gholami Orimi one silver (u14 Open Blitz) and Nima Ferendeski one bronze medal (u16 Open Blitz).

Detailed results
Fatemeh Mashhadi (4th U8 Girls Blitz, 6th U8 Girls, 32nd U8 Girls Rapid)
Artin Ashraf (1st U8 Open, 1st U8 Open Rapid, 16th U8 Open Blitz)

Fatemeh Khodadadi (4th U10 Girls, 19th U10 Girls Blitz, 23rd U10 Girls Rapid)
Soshiyant Nejatpour (11th U10 Open Blitz, 19th U10 Open, 22U10 Open Rapid)

Seyede Setare Sebt Rasoul (6th U12 Girls Blitz, 7th U12 Girls Rapid, 9th U12 Girls)
Mani Jahedi (4th U12 Open Blitz, 6th U12 Open Rapid, 14th U12 Open)

Mitra Asgharzadeh (8th U14 Girls, 25th U14 Girls Rapid, 29th U14 Girls Blitz)
Mahdi Gholami Orimi (2nd U14 Open Blitz, 4th U14 Open, 23rd U14 Open Rapid)

Mobina Alinasab (1st U16 Girls, 2nd U16 Girls Blitz, 21st U16 Girls Rapid)
Nima Ferendeski (3rd U16 Open Blitz, 7th U16 Open Rapid, 14th U16 Open)
Arash Tahbaz (1st U16 Open, 5th U16 Open Blitz, 13th U16 Open Rapid)

Mohadeseh Alijanzadeh (6th U18 Girls Rapid, 9th U18 Girls, 12th U18 Girls Blitz)
Mersad Khodashenas (1st U18 Open, 3rd U18 Open Blitz)
Seyed Khalil Mousavi (19th U18 Open)

Sources: chess-results.com (Blitz), chess-results.com (Rapid), chess-results.com (Classical chess), Facebook | Asian Youth Chess Championship 2016 – Mongolia

Winners at RoboCup IranOpen 2016 (Photos)

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The 11th edition of RoboCup IranOpen took place at Tehran International Fairground. Around 2000 university and high school students from different countries competed in three categories including humanoids, flying robots and rescuers, divided into different leagues and difficulty levels. A total of 320 teams, 306 from Iran and 14 teams from abroad (Afghanistan, Canada, China, Germany, the Netherlands, Peru, South Korea, United Kingdom and the USA), competed at this event.

The IranOpen has been organized by the Iranian RoboCup National Committee and Qazvin Azad University. The Committee was officially formed in July 2006 with the objective of promoting robotics and artificial intelligence research.

Winners RoboCup Soccer – 2D Simulation League
1st – Nexus 2D (Ferdowsi University Mashhad, Iran)
2nd – Miracle 2016 (Hefei Normal University, China)
3rd – MT2016 (Hefei University, China)
Technical challenge: Shiraz (Shiraz, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – 3D Simulation League
1st – UTAustinVilla (University of Texas at Austin, USA)
2nd – Apollo3D (Nanjing University of Posts and Telecommunications, China)
3rd – Kylinsky3D (Hohai University Wentian College, China)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Small Size Robot League
1st – Immortals (Robotics Engineering Center, University of Tehran)
2nd – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
3rd – ZJUNLict (Zhejiang University, China)
Small Size robot soccer (or F180) focuses on the problem of intelligent multi-agent cooperation and control in a highly dynamic environment with a hybrid centralized/distributed system.

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Humanoid League (Adult, teen and kid size)
Adult: 1st – Baset Adult-Size (Baset Pazhuh Tehran Co, Iran)
Teen: 1st – AUTMan Teen (Amirkabir University, Iran / University of Manitoba, Canada)
Kid Size
1st – Bold Hearts (University of Hertfordshire, United Kingdom)
2nd – Parand Kid-Size (Azad University of Parand, Iran)
3rd – FUmanoids (Freie Universität Berlin, Germany)

Winners RoboCup Soccer – Standard Platform League
1st – Nao Team HTWK (HTWK Leipzig, Germany)
2nd – DAlnamite (TU Berlin / DAI-Labor, Germany)
Innovation challenge: MRL-SPL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
The RoboCup Standard Platform League is a RoboCup robot soccer league, in which all teams compete with identical robots.

Winners RoboCup Rescue – Rescue Agent Simulation League
1st MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd S.O.S (Amirkabir University of Technology Tehran, Iran)
3rd Poseidon (Farzanegan High School Tehran, Iran)
Technical challenge: RAS-ROSHD (Roshd High School Tehran, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Rescue – Rescue Robot League
1st – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd – YRA (Azad University of Yazd, Iran)
3rd – VRU (Vali-e-Asr University of Rafsanjan, Iran)
Skill, discovery and mobility challenge: MRL
Flying rescue challenge: YRA

Winners RoboCup@Work
1st – ACE IAUK (Azad University of Kerman, Iran)
2nd – MEC (Shariati Technical College Tehran, Iran)

Winners RoboCup Junior – Soccer Open
1st – Helli Afra (Allameh Helli High School 10, Tehran, Iran)
2nd – AMOS (Salam Zeynoddin High School, Iran)
3rd – Allameh Tabatabaei (Allameh Tabatabaei High School)

Winners IranOpenDeminer – Tele-Operated Deminer Robots
1st – YRA (Azad University of Yazd, Iran)
2nd – Pasargad (Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran)
3rd (joint) – SRC (Azad University of Tabriz, Iran) and Malayer University (Malayer University, Hamedan, Iran)

Winners IranOpenDeminer – Small Size Intelligent Deminer Robots
1st – khayyam Robotic (Azad University of Neyshabur, Iran)
2nd – ROBOSINA (Bu-Ali Sina University, Hamedan, Iran)
3rd – RTL (Azad University of Arak, Iran)

Winners IranOpenUAV
1st (joint) – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran) and KN2C (K.N.Toosi University Tehran, Iran)
3rd – Cyrus UAV (Azad University of Kermanshah, Iran)

Winners IranOpenROV
1st – MRL (Azad University of Qazvin, Iran)
2nd – anZan Of Persian Gulf (Applied Science University of Ahvaz, Iran)

Related articles: The other Iran | Robocup

Video: Mehr News Agency | RoboCup IranOpen 2016

Sources: 2016 IranOpen; Mehr News Agency (MNA) 1; MNA 2; BORNA News; Fars News; IRNA 1; IRNA 2; ISNA 1; ISNA 2 (in Persian); Jam-e Jam Online 1; Jam-e Jam Online 2; dai-labor.de; Baltimore Sun; Epoch Times (in Persian); Facebook | DAI-Labor

Iranian students win 3rd place at FISU World University Chess Championship (Photos)

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The 14th FISU World University Chess Championship (WUCC) was held from April 9th to April 15th, 2016 in Abu Dhabi, UAE.

Eight students represented Iran at the tournament. The women’s chess team consisted of WGM Atousa Pourkashiyan, WGM Mitra Hejazipour, WIM Ghazal Hakimifard and Khalaji Hanieh. GM Pouya Idani, IM Amirreza Pourramezanali, FM Nima Javanbakht and Ali Faghirnavaz formed the men’s team.

In the women’s division all three best placed players attained 6,5 points. WGM Ni Shiqun of China won gold, WIM Ghazal Hakimifard won silver, Iran’s best result at FISU WUCC 2016, and WIM Anna Warakomska of Poland bronze.

GM Hovhannes Gabuzyan of Armenia won the men’s gold medal with 8 points. GM Vladimir Fedoseev of Russia secured silver (7 points) and GM Pavel Ponkratov of Russia got bronze with 6,5 points. Iran’s best player in the men’s division, IM Amirreza Pourramezanali, finished in sixth place attaining 6 points like Serbian IM Marko Nenezic (4th) and GM Samvel Ter-Sahakyan of Armenia (5th).

WIM Alina Bivol placed fourth to complete the three best results for the team award for Russia. Her result combined with those of Fedoseev and Ponkratov garnered the first place team trophy for Russia (19,5 points). The Armenian team of GM Gabuzyan, GM Ter-Sahakyan and WIM Maria Gevorgyan won the runner-up trophy (19 points). The Iranian team of WIM Ghazal Hakimifard, WGM Mitra Hejazipour and IM Amirreza Pourramezanali won third place (18,5 points).

Sources: chess-results.com, FISU | Chess, iusf.ir (in Persian), Borna News

Photos: Spaghetti bridge competition in Tehran

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The 3rd National Spaghetti Bridge Competition, organized by SBC, was held at Tehran’s Milad Tower. 670 students in 108 teams participated at the event.

A spaghetti bridge is a small scale model bridge made of spaghetti or other hard, dry, straight noodles. The aim is usually to construct a bridge with a specific quantity of materials over a specific span, that can sustain a load. In heavyweight competitions, the bridge that can hold the greatest load for a short period of time wins the contest.

Iranian civil engineering students ranked second in 2004 (load held: 19.17kg) and 2010 (load held: 184.3kg / 406.31lbs) at the Heavyweight Contest organized by Okanagan College in British Columbia, Canada. This competition, that started in 1983, is open to contestants around the world, however the rules state that contestants must be full-time secondary or post-secondary students.

Sources: Wikipedia | Spaghetti bridge, IRNA, Okanagan College 1, Okanagan College 2 (pdf), Azad News Agency, SBC (in Persian)

Photo gallery: Domino competitions in Hamedan, Iran

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Different domino tournaments were organized at Hamedan’s Azad University during the last weeks. The competitions for middle and high schoolers took place early November with around one hundred participants in twenty five teams from Hamedan and Lalejin. Twelve teams competed late November during the tournament for university students.

Sources: ISNA 1, ISNA 2, Tasnim News Agency, hamedan.ir, Young Journalists Club

Iran wins gold at 2015 Youth & Cadets Chess World Championship

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Almost 1,600 chess players from 92 countries took part at the FIDE World Youth & Cadets Championship 2015 in Greece. India dominated the event, winning 11 medals, among them 5 gold. Iran and Bulgaria complete the top three with one gold and one bronze medal each. Azerbaijan, Germany, Greece, Uzbekistan and Vietnam have one gold medal each. Russia and USA took 4 medals each, but none of them was gold.

Iranian chess player Mosadeghpour Masoud cruised to the victory with 9.5 points from 11 games in the Open U18 leaving the nearest followers a full point behind. He has achieved the IM title norm after the completion of the event, showing that the rise of Iranian chess is real, notably in the males now, since the women had already made their mark more than once. After Iranian Pouya Idani’s surprise win in the 2013 WCCY Open U18, Masoud is now the nation’s second gold just two years later. (Final ranking of the Iranian players below).

Photo gallery: Iranians at WYCC 2015

Iranian players: Final ranking at WYCC 2015 after 11 rounds
1st Mosadeghpour Masoud (IM) – Open U18 – (Rank 1 out of 116 participants)
3rd Gholami Aryan (FM) – Open U14 – (Rank 3 out of 150 participants)
6th Asadi Motahare (WFM) – Girls U12 – (Rank 6 out of 120 participants)
6th Firouzja Alireza – Open U12 – (Rank 6 out of 150 participants)
8th Lorparizangeneh Shahin (IM) – Open U16 – (Rank 8 out of 150 participants)
9th Derakhshani Dorsa (WIM) – Girls U18 – (Rank 9 out of 80 participants)
11th Alinasab Mobina (WFM) – Girls U16 – (Rank 11 out of 95 participants)
12th Maghsoodloo Parham – Open U16 – (Rank 12 out of 150 participants)
12th Tabatabaei M.Amin (IM) – Open U14 – (Rank 12 out of 150 participants)
13th Khodashenas Mersad – Open U18 – (Rank 13 out of 116 participants)
18th Gholami Orimi Anahita (WIM) – Girls U18 – (Rank 18 out of 80 participants)
21st Baradaran Tamadon Arian – Open U10 – (Rank 21 out of 150 participants)
22nd Mahdian Anousha – Girls U12 – (Rank 22 out of 120 participants)
25th Daneshvar Bardiya – Open U10 – (Rank 25 out of 150 participants)
29th Kalantari Sedigheh (WFM) – Girls U14 – (Rank 29 out of 125 participants)
42nd Tahbaz Arash – Open U16 – (Rank 42 out of 150 participants)
59th Mahjoob Zardast Artemis – Girls U8 – (Rank 59 out of 87 participants)
63rd Hashemi Seyede Fatemeh – Girls U14 – (Rank 63 out of 125 participants)

Sources: FIDE WYCC 2015, chess-results.com, chessbase.com, IRNA

Iranian winners at ‘Graines d’artistes du monde entier 2015: Face or Mask’, a children and young adults competition in France

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Eighteen Iranian children have received awards or honorable mentions for their art work submitted to the international visual art competition held by the Centre pour L’UNESCO Louis Francois based in Troyes, France.

Every year the organization launches an international visual arts competition for children and young adults. This year, the Centre pour L’UNESCO Louis Francois received 5000 submissions from 53 countries.

Bahar Raznahan (1st place), Hediyeh Hasri (7th place), Sara Esmaeilinia (8th place) in the 10-13 age group and Pantea Nemati (12th place) in the 14-17 age group received awards.

Bahar Raznahan – 1st place (10 to 13 years category)
Hasri Hediyeh – 7th place (10 to 13 years category)
Sara Esmaeilinia – 8th place (10 to 13 years category)
Pantea Nemati – 12th place (14 to 17 years category)
Poster

Shakiba Bourki, Pouyan Pireh, Nazafarin Akia, Mardin Fathi, Sajjad Mohseni, Rastin Tajik, Parham and Pouya Javidan, Samin Abbasi, Zahra Hemmati, Amir Abbas Parast, Aynaz Shadmanesh, Soheil Kargar, Kiarash Samimi, Fatemeh Abiri and Mohammad-Mehdi Khoshhal received honorable mentions. The drawings were collected and submitted by the Iranian Center for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults.

Sources: Facebook | Centre pour l’UNESCO Louis François, Tavoos Online

Winners of the International Theater Festival for Children and Youth 2015 in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

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The winners of the 22nd International Theater Festival for Children and Youth were introduced during the closing ceremony held on Tuesday, October 6th, in Hamedan.

Veteran Iranian director, Marzieh Boroumand, was honored for her lifetime achievements. Boroumand is most famous for her hits “Grandmother’s Home” and “School of Mice”, two popular puppet series from the 1980s.

About fifty theater troupes from nine different countries attended early October to the 22nd International Theater Festival for Children and Youth.

Related article: International Theater Festival for Children and Youth in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

Sources: Tavoos Online, Mehr News Agency, ISNA, IRNA

International Theater Festival for Children and Youth in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

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Hamedan hosted early October the 22nd edition of the International Theater Festival for Children and Youth. About fifty theater troupes from nine countries, among others Italy, Germany, Finland, Russia and England, attended the festival and competed in different sections (children, youth and international). Besides their performances the troupes also arranged several workshops.

Sources: Tavoos Online, IRNA, ISNA, Mehr News 1, Mehr News 2, Mehr News 3, Honar Online

Opera ‘Kalileh and Demneh’ performed by children in Shiraz, Iran (Photos)

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The opera of “Kalileh and Demneh”, arranged and conducted by Mohammad-Ali Fallahi, was performed by children younger than 12 years old at the Hafez Hall in Shiraz.

Kalileh and Demneh is a collection of didactic animal fables, with the jackals Kalileh and Demneh as two of the principal characters. Originally from India (between 500BCE and 100BCE), the fables were translated into many languages, undergoing significant changes in both form and content. In Persian literature Kalileh and Demneh has been known in different versions since the 6th century CE. In Sanskrit literature the story cycle is known as Panchatantra, while it was often called Fables of Bidpai in early modern Europe.

Sources: Mehr News Agency, Enciclopædia Iranica | Kalila wa Demna, Honaronline (in Persian)

Youth Music Festival 2015 in Tehran, Iran – Part 2: Winners (Photos)

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Close to 250 young musicians participated in this festival which was held in two main sections of classical and traditional Iranian music. The competition was held in three age groups ranging from 10-27 years old.

In the classical section, the highest number of instrumentalists played the piano, violin and guitar, while in the traditional section santur, tar and setar were mostly present. Traditional Persian music was held in eight sub-categories, including seven instrumental and a vocal section.

Related article: Youth Music Festival Practice & Performance (Photos) – Part 1 https://theotheriran.com/2015/09/22/youth-music-festival-2015-in-tehran-iran-part-1-practice-performance-photos/

Sources: tavoosonline.com, MEHR | Photos, nay.ir

12th International Open Chess Tournament “Avicenna Cup” in Hamedan, Iran (Photos)

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The 12th Avicenna International Open Chess Tournament was organized by the Hamedan Chess Association and Iranian Chess Federation from September 2-9, 2015, in the Iranian city of Hamedan.

The event was an 11-round Swiss open with time control 90′ + 30″.

GM Oleg Korneev from Spain emerged a sole winner with 9.5/11 points, leaving the runner-up, 2015 Iranian champion GM Ehsan Ghaem Maghami, half a point behind.

The 15-year-old Parham Maghsoodloo clinched the bronze medal on a superior tie-break score, after sharing 3-7th place with 8.5 points. Maghsoodloo has just qualified for the FIDE World Cup 2015.

Top 10:

1 GM Korneev Oleg 2578 ESP 9.5
2 GM Ghaem Maghami Ehsan 2596 IRI 9
3 Maghsoodloo Parham 2447 IRI 8.5
4 FM Mousavi Seyed Khalil 2427 IRI 8.5
5 Mosadeghpour Masoud 2416 IRI 8.5
6 Dalir Alireza 2297 IRI 8.5
7 IM Asgarizadeh Ahmad 2402 IRI 8.5
8 GM Toufighi Homayoon 2400 IRI 8
9 Sedaghati Mehrdad 2238 IRI 8
10 Faghirnavaz Ali 2298 IRI 8

Sources: ISNA | Photos, MEHR| Photos, Tasnim | Photos, Chessdom.com

Youth Music Festival 2015 in Tehran, Iran – Part 1: Practice & Performance (Photos)

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Close to 250 young musicians participated in this festival which was held in two main sections of classical and traditional Iranian music. The competition was held in three age groups ranging from 10-27 years old.

In the classical section, the highest number of instrumentalists played the piano, violin and guitar, while in the traditional section santur, tar and setar were mostly present. Traditional Persian music was held in eight sub-categories, including seven instrumental and a vocal section.

Sources: MEHR | Photos, nay.ir, honaronline.ir 1, honaronline.ir 2, Tavoos Online

Iran’s youth and junior national climbing team training in Hamedan (Photos)

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Twenty seven athletes from Iran’s youth and junior national climbing team participated end of July at a four-day training camp in Hamedan to improve their speed, leed and bouldering skills.

Sources: Iran Mountaneering and Sport Climbing Federation | News, Borna News | Photos, IRNA | Photos

Iran wins 3rd place in FIVB U19 Volleyball World Championship 2015 in Argentina

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An incredible tournament-high production of 40 points from Iranian star Rasoul Aghchehli ejected the Asians to a remarkable bronze medal as they won over previous champions Russia 3-1 (25-17, 26-28, 25-16, 25-23).

Iranian captain worked at their maximum and he completed 36 spikes and 4 blocks, to break all previous records. Rasoul was escorted by Mirbabak Mousavigargari and Aliasghar Mojarad, with 13 and 12 points respectively. On top of that, Rasoul won a terrific battle of opposites over powerful Russian Dmitry Yakovlev, who led his side with 26 tallies. Yakovlev had in middle-blocker Aleksandr Melnikov his best supporter with 13 points, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Iranian machinery.

 

Iran finished second behind Poland on the group stage, winning against Germany on the round of 16 and although they were only a few inches away from elimination, Iran resurged from ashes and achieved a spectacular return to rule out Italy 3:2 (17:25, 22:25, 25:20, 25:20, 15:11) and move to semifinals, where they lost against champion Poland 3:1.

Iran improved his previous run with the step onto the podium, as they were left out on the very verge of it on Mexico 2013, finishing fourth. Russia fell out of the top, as the gold medal will now change hands.

Iran U19 national volleyball team
Iran’s youth team have won seven gold medals and a silver medal – the best record in this age group in the Asian region. Last year, the team earned the qualification ticket to the FIVB Volleyball Boys’ U19 World Championship in Argentina after an unbeaten run in the continental championship. The result is the product of a long-term project of Iran to serve as a farm of talents for the senior men’s team. In the World Championship, Iranian youth have been a consistent force in the final, finishing with a gold medal in 2007, two silver medals in 2001 and 2009, a bronze medal in 2003, and a fourth place finish in the last edition.

Source: 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | News, FIVB | Press releases, 2015 U19 FIVB Men Volleyball Championship | Iran

Morteza Jafari: First Iranian gold medal at the FIS Grass Skiing World Cup competition held in Dizin, Iran (Photos)

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Iranian skier Seyyed Morteza Jafari made history at the Grass Skiing World Cup in Dizin, collecting the Iran’s first gold medal in the sport. After winning a silver medal in Super G, he finished in the first place in the giant slalom competitions with a time of 51:09 seconds, followed by Italian Eduardo Frau with 51:78 and Austrian Michael Stocker with 51:98. Slovakian Barbara Mikova won gold medals in Ladies’ Giant Slalom and Ladies’ Super G.

The tournament, that brought together skiers from Austria, the Czech Republic, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland and Iran, was organized in Dizin. It is the third time, that this ski resort located in the Alborz mountain range and near the capital Tehran, hosts a Grass Skiing World Cup event.

The World Cup season 2015 got underway on July with giant slalom and slalom competitions in Predklasteri (Czech Republic) before moving to Ravascletto (Italy) for slalom events on 17th and 18th July. The tour stopped in Dizin (Iran) on 6th and 7th August, and Marbachegg (Switzerland) on 15th and 16th August, both for giant slalom and super-G events. The World Cup Finals will be held from 21st-23rd September in Kaprun (Austria).

The two major highlights of the season will be the Junior World Championships in Stitna (Czech Republic) from 28th July-2nd August and the World Championships in Tambre (Italy) from 1st-6th September.

Full Dizin Grass Skiing WC results: International Ski Federation (FIS) | Event results

Sources: FIS | News, Tehran Times | News, Team Iran | Skiing News, Press TV | News, Tasnim News | Photos (01-06), ISNA | Photos (07-19), IRNA | Photos (20-46), Fars News Agency | Photos (47-58), BORNA News | Photos (59-76)

Iran’s women inline speed skating competition (Photos)

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135 Iranian athletes, divided in juniors and seniors, participated during the first stage of women’s inline speed skating competition. The best athletes in the different disciplines were invited to Iran’s national team camp in Mazandaran and Borujen in August.

Other posts about Iranian women: The other Iran | women

Sources: IRNA | Photos, Iran Skating Federation | News, Iran Skating Federation | Photos, BORNA News Agency | Photos

Show Jumping Competitions Held in Isfahan, Iran (Photos)

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Isfahan hosted the 3rd Naqsh-e-Jahan Cup, a show jumping competition. For three days more than 200 riders from Isfahan, Tehran, Fars, Qom, Tabriz, Zanjan and Kerman competed in different classes and categories (children, teen, youth and adults).

Show Jumping, also known as “stadium jumping”, “open jumping”, or simply “jumping”, is a part of a group of English riding equestrian events that also includes dressage, eventing, hunters, and equitation. Jumping classes are commonly seen at horse shows throughout the world, including the Olympics. International competitions are governed by the rules of the International Federation for Equestrian Sports (FEI).

Sources: Wikipedia | Show jumping, Tasnim News | Photos, IRNA | Photos, Equestrian Federation of Iran | Naqsh-e-Jahan Cup results (in Persian)

Iranian high school students win first place in the 9th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA)

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Iranian high school students are in this year’s 9th International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics (IOAA) on top of the medal table with three gold, four silver and three bronze medals.

This year’s competition was held from July 26 to August 4 in the Indonesian city of Semarang with the participation of 41 countries. The IOAA is an annual international astronomy competition for high school students and was first held in Thailand in 2007

Arman Vasigh Zadeh Ansari, Fatemeh Zargar Bashi and Ali Zare won the gold medals, Saeed Hojjati Nejad, Saeed Morteza Sadat, Mohammad Hadi Sotoudeh and Ali-Reza Arjmand Shakouri won the silver medals and Ali Chegini, Parsa Nourozi and Seyed Ali Hadian Emrai won the bronze medals.

Special awards were also given to Fatemeh Zargar Bashi (Most Creative Solution) and to Ali Zare (Best Theory).

Group photo at Prambanan Temple during the 2015 IOAA (International Olympiad on Astronomy and Astrophysics) held in Semarang, Indonesia
Iranian team at IOAA 2015 held in Semarang, Indonesia
Gold medalists at IOAA 2015 held in Semarang, Indonesia
Silver medalists at IOAA 2015 held in Semarang, Indonesia
Bronze medalists at IOAA 2015 held in Semarang, Indonesia
Special Awardees at IOAA 2015 held in Semarang, Indonesia

Related posts (other international successes): The other Iran | Education

Sources: Payvand News of Iran, IOAA 2015 Newsletter Vol.08 | Student rankings (p6), Special Awards and Honorable Mentions (p7), Medal distribution (p8) – (PDF), Facebook | IOAA 2015, IOAA 2015 | Photos

 

Iran puts on remarkable show at RoboCup 2015 in China

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The 19th RoboCup Tournament took place from July 19th to July 23rd, 2015 in Hefei City, East China with more than 2000 participants from 47 countries. The Iranian teams achieved three first places, three second places and two third places along with top spots at technical challenges and other awards.

Many Iranian High Schools participated at the event. At the 2D Simulation RoboCup Soccer Competition, Phonix from Atomic Energy High School was awarded Best New Team, finishing 10th. At the same competition HERMES from Allameh Helli Highschool was 5th and Genius2015 from Ghazal High School, Shiraz was 11th.

AUT-UofM is a team formed by Amirkabir University of Technology (AUT) in Iran and University of Manitoba (UofM) in Canada
AUT-UofM team member celebrating with his robot. Photo credit: ilpost.it via STR/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: gmw.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi
Photo credit: ilpost.it via STR/AFP/Getty Images
Photo credit: jschina.com.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi
Photo credit: gmw.cn via Xinhua/Liu Junxi

Detailed results for top Iranian teams

1) RoboCup Rescue Competition
Rescue Simulation: 1st S.O.S (Amirkabir University of Technology, Iran), 2nd MRL (Mechatronic Research Lab, Islamic Azad University of Qazvin, Iran), 3rd SEU_Jolly (China)

Rescue Robot: 1st MRL (Iran), 2nd iRAP_Junior (Thailand), 3rd YRA (Islamic Azad University of Yazd, Iran) // Innovative User Interface Award: Hector Darmstadt (Germany) and MRL (Iran).

2) RoboCup Soccer Competition
Humanoid League – Adult Size: 1st THORwIn (USA), 2nd Baset Adult-Size (Baset Pazhuh Tehran Cooperation, Iran), 3rd HuroEvolution AD (Taiwan) // Technical challenges: 1st Baset Adult-Size (Iran), 2nd HuroEvolution AD (Taiwan) and CIT Brains Adult (Japan), 3rd THORwIn (USA)

Humanoid League – Teen Size: 1st Team Parand (Parand Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran), 2nd HuroEvolution TN (Taiwan), 3rd AUT-UofM (Amirkabir University of Technology – University of Manitoba, Iran – Canada) // Technical challenges: 1st HuroEvolution TN (Taiwan), 2nd place shared between WF Wolves & Taura Bots Teen (Germany & Brazil) and AUT-UofM (Iran & Canada)

Small Size: 1st CMDragons, Carnegie Mellon University (USA), 2nd MRL, Qazvin Islamic Azad University (Iran), 3rd ZJUNlict, Zhejiang University (China) // Technical challenges: 1st ER-Force (Germany), 2nd ZJUNlict (China), 3rd MRL (Iran)

Middle Size: 1st Water (China), 2nd TechUnited Eindhoven (Netherlands), 3rd ARES (China) // Technical challenges: 1st MRL (Iran), 2nd NuBot (China), 3rd Tech United Eindhoven (Netherlands)

2D Simulation: 1st WrightEagle, University of Science and Technology of China (China), 2nd HELIOS2015, Fukuoka University, Osaka Prefecture University, (Japan), 3rd Gliders2015, University of Sydney and CSIRO (Australia) // Best New Team: Phonix (Atomic Energy High School, Iran).

About RoboCup
RoboCup is an annual international robotics competition aiming to promote robotics and artificial intelligence research, by offering a publicly appealing, but formidable challenge. The name RoboCup is a contraction of the competition’s full name, “Robot Soccer World Cup”, but there are many other stages of the competition such as “RoboCupRescue”, “RoboCup@Home” and “RoboCupJunior”. The official goal of the project is “By the middle of the 21st century, a team of fully autonomous humanoid robot soccer players shall win a soccer game, complying with the official rules of FIFA, against the winner of the most recent World Cup.”

Other related articles: The other Iran | RoboCup

Sources: RoboCup 2015 | Results, Mehr News Agency | News 1, Wikipedia | RoboCup, Mehr News Agency | Photos, RoboCup Humanoid League, Mehr News Agency | News 2

Sara Khadem: Iran’s top ranked chess Woman Grand Master and Under-12 world champion

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Sara Sadat Khadem-al-sharieh (born March 10, 1997) is an Iranian chess Woman Grand Master. As of July 2015, she is ranked world no. 4 girl player and no. 66 junior player. She won the Under-12 World Youth Chess Championship (Girls) in 2009. She played at the 40th Chess Olympiad in 2012. Her current ELO rating is 2412.

FIDE Titles
International Master (IM), 2015
Woman Grand Master (WGM), 2013
Woman International Master (WIM), 2011
Woman FIDE Master (WFM), 2008

Quick interview at the Olympiad in Tromsø 2014:

Sources: wikipedia | Sara Khadem, FIDE top women chess players of Iran

Robotics competition in Kermanshah, Iran

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Photos of the 2015 RoboMedal Tournament organized in Kermanshah. The first round was on May 19 and the finals on May 21. The top ranked teams will compete in international robotics tournaments.

Related post: The other Iran | Iran’s impressive track record in RoboCup

Sources: Tasnim News Agency | Photos, robomedal.com, Kermanshah irib.ir | News

Photos: Iran’s rowing team training at Azadi’s Sport Complex Lake

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On another note, tests were held today to determine the best members of the kayak youth national team. After three competition rounds Mohammad Javad finished first with 37 points, second was Alireza Farmandeh (30pts) and third Mohammad Golpirah (29pts).

Below photos of Iran’s national rowing team training training at Azadi’s Sport Complex Lake:

About the Azadi Sport Complex
The Azadi Sport Complex (formerly Aryamehr Sport Complex) was designed by Architect Abdol-Aziz Farmanfarmaian and constructed by Arme Construction Company for the 7th Asian Games in 1974 with international criteria. It is located on a 450 hectares areal in West Tehran.

It is Iran’s national sports complex comprising following facilities: Azadi Stadium, Velodrome, Indoor Stadium, Swimming Pool Hall, Five Halls Complex (for indoor sports like Basketball, Volleyball, Wrestling…), Shooting Complex, Artificial Lake, Driving Court, Tennis Courts, Equestrian Court, Karting Court, Baseball Court, Azadi Football Training Pitches and the Olympic Hotel Tehran.

Sources:  IRNA | Photos, Wikipedia | Azadi Sport Complex, Wikipedia | Azadi Stadium | History, ICF (Iran Canoeing, Rowing & Sailing Federation) | News

Photos: BMX Competition at Ghaem Park in Tehran, Iran

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The 1st official BMX Competitions at Tehran’s Qaem (Ghaem) Park was held on May 8th.

Qaem Park is located in Tehran’s 18th district covering an area of 50 hectares. It has a children’s playground, an artificial pond and hosts various types of trees (orange, elm, cedar, maple and olive trees, mulberries, acacia, pines, etc.)

Sources: Mehr News Agency | Photos, Tehran Municipality | Parks, Tehran Tochal International Trade | Projects: Ghaem Park

3rd International Bayan Programming Contest in Tehran, Iran

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A total of 10,266 computer programmers from 103 countries participated in the competitions hosted by Bayan knowledge-based company.

After a qualification round held online during October 9-12, 2014 and an elimination round that took place online on October 19, sixty contestants from the top 20 countries advanced to the finals.

The finals took place in Tehran on May 1st, 2014. Evgenii Kapun from Russia, Ali Haghani from Iran and Nikola Djokic from Switzerland stood first to third respectively. Full scoreboard here: contest.bayan.ir | Final scoreboard

A total of 4,910 contestants from 54 countries participated in the contest during 2012-13.

About the contest
Talented programmers compete in solving problems inspired by real-world scenarios. Contestants are free to choose their programming language, which is not limited because of the output-only nature of problems. All accommodation expenses are covered by the company, while the flight expenses of the top ten participants will be met by the organizers.

About Bayan
Bayan is a privately held Information Technology and consulting company specializing in large-scale web applications. Bayan has developed many products and services since its establishment, including Blog.ir (hosted blog service), Hod.ir (web-mail service), BayanBox.ir (file hosting service), Sana (smart cloud storage system) and Salam.ir (meta search engine, focusing on retrieving relevant results for Persian search queries).
Awards: Best Iranian Software Company, Outstanding Iranian Brand in Information Technology, Organizational Excellency Award

Sources: Press TV, Iran Daily, Bayan | Contest, bayan.blog.ir, codeforces.com | Egor, codeforces.com | BYN, ISNA | Photos

Photos: International Equestrian Tournament for teenage jockeys in Tehran, Iran

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Thirty eight jockeys competed in the 1st International Equestrian Tournament for Juniors (jockeys aged between 14 and 18) organized by the Equestrian Federation of Iran.

The tournament took place near Chitgar Park at Azadi Equestrian Complex, Tehran. Embassadors from Belgium, Belarus, Spain and Turkmenistan visited the event. The first place went to Sobhan Youssefi riding Fouravar, Arshia Tassafi riding Butterfly took the second place and Amir Azsalan Tambakoukar riding Jalisco the third.

In another competition, Salar Golestanian riding Anora won the first place, Mehrdad Ameri riding Karbeh the second and Sobhan Yousefi riding Fouravar the third place.

Sources: International Equestrian Federation | Calendar , IRNA | Photos, Equestrian Federation of Iran | News

New Year’s dreams – What do Iranians wish for this year that just started?

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The start of a new year is associated with dreams and new things we would like to achieve.

Iranians wrote down what they wish of this New Year and were photographed holding their written wishes and an element of the haft sin. Enjoy the photo gallery!

Click on a photo and see the translation of all the wishes:

To grow up
I wish that year 1394 is not like year 1393
I wish everyone health, happiness and success
It is not wrong for young people to dream
I would like to have a house for myself
I would like the problems of my family to be solved
I want to own a house
I wish to be a dentist
I wish to pass the university entrance exam
Our biggest dream for this New Year is to purchase a house and happiness
I would like to marry
A happy heart and a healthy body
Happiness for my daughter
A year full of success and happiness
Health and happiness
A good job with a high income
To achieve the wishes I had for the last year
Lots of dolls
Health for all Iranians
Lots of toys
To buy a house
Money
A car
Health for my parents
To return home

Learn more about the Iranian New Year (Nowruz), its traditions and food:
The other Iran | Nowruz

Sources: Mehr News Agency

Sahar Pakseresht: Young Iranian woman wins the ‘The Young Innovators Competition’ of the International Telecom Union

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The Young Innovators Competition has many challenges includes ‘Local Digital Content’, ‘Open Source Technologies for Disaster Management’ and ‘Smart Cities and Climate Change’.

Sahar Pakseresht was one of the participants of ‘Open Source Technologies for Disaster Management’ challenge.Her idea, called ‘NAJI’ has been selected as the winner of this challenge among almost 150 applications from a group of dedicated, exciting and motived young people from all over the world.

Sahar Pakseresht Young Iranian woman wins the ‘The Young Innovators Competition’ of the International Telecom UnionSo, What is ‘NAJI’? Naji (means savior in Persian) is a two part system, consisting of a bracelet that marks the user’s location and vital signs in a disaster, making rescue easier and a mobile application which streamlines requests for assistance from emergency personnel. It functions over a range of communication systems in order to make sure that it continues to function when needed, by switching from data to phone to SMS to USSD as needed.

What does NAJI do in details?

She says: “I faced the earthquake when I was 15 years old. It was the most horrible things in my life, I saw myself too close to death. I was wonder how to overcome to this fear and save lives of human with the help of technology.” Sahar wrote, “If I can save the life of one person then my mission is done successfully. Once I heard about this competition I found out that this competition is the way that I was always looking for to reach my goals.”

Source: techly.co – An Iranian girl is a winner of ITU Telecom World 2014

Iran beat China to lift U-20 Asian volleyball crown

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2014 Asian U20 Men Volleyball Championship in Bahrain - Gold Medal Match - Iran 3 - China 0_01

The Iranian team wearing their gold medals

Iran has pulled off a stunning straight-sets victory over China to take gold at the 17th Asian U20 Men’s Volleyball Championships in Bahrain. A match billed as a clash of the Asian junior titans became a volleyball clinic, with Iran strolling to its fifth Asian U20 title, all achieved in the past nine championships.

With the exception of the first five points of the match, which China won, Iran was in total control. The seeds were sown in the sixth point of the opening set, when Rahman Taghizadeh rose to block a Runtao Xia spike. That block not only stopped the Chinese momentum, it also signaled a change in direction for his teammates. […]

Zhejia Zhang, the Chinese blocking machine later named the tournament’s best middle blocker, managed just one for the night. Runtao Xia, later to be named best outside spiker, was restricted to just seven points.

Iran played almost all its pool matches with just ten players, after visa problems left two of its players cooling their heels in Tehran. […]

“They worked very hard for this, working, working, working, step-by-step. Today the players showed they were one team and they were the best in the competition.”

It was a powerful display by Iran, and guarantees Asia will be well served at next year’s U23 World Championships in Mexico. “In 2007 I was with the Iran youth team when we won the gold medal, and I hope next year we can repeat history and win another gold medal,” coach Farhad said.

Final result: Iran vs. China 3-0 (25-19, 25-18, 25-19)

Iranian supporters in Manama, Bahrein, at the 2014 Asian junior men’s volleyball championship
Iranian team members celebrate their victory
Iranian defensive wall

Final standings – TOP 5
1. IRAN
2. CHINA
3. KOREA
4. BAHRAIN
5. JAPAN

Individual awards
Best setter: Yu Yaochen (China)
Best outside spiker: Valaei Akbar (Iran)
Best outside spiker: Xia Runtao (China)
Best middle blocker: Alla Verdian Sahand (Iran)
Best middle blocker: Zhang Zhejia (China)
Best libero: Lee Sanguk (Korea)
Best opposite spiker: Mohamed Anan (Bahrain)
Most valuable player: Mohammadjavad Manavinezhad (Iran)

Source: asianvolleyball.org

9th RoboCup Iran Open – International competition kicked of in Tehran with 388 teams from US, UK, France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, …

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The 9th RoboCup Iran Open competitions and symposium officially kicked off in Tehran on Wednesday. This event provides an environment to present and share scientific achievements in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Robotics.

The competition hosts 388 teams from Iran, US, UK, France, Portugal, Italy, Germany, Sweden, The Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Japan, China, Thailand, India, Pakistan, UAE, Canada, Turkey, Colombia, Egypt and Indonesia.

Iran’s international robocup competition is among the top premier robotic competitions worldwide.

Source: Payvand | Photos: 9th International Robocup Competition Kicks Off In Tehran

Article on some of Iran’s RoboCup successes in the near past:
The other Iran | Iran’s impressive trackrecord in RoboCup

World class US and European skateboarders skating in Iran

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While skateboarding has a firm footing across major cities of the world, Iran certainly isn’t a name you’d associate with skating. Bridging an in-depth skateboarding video with documentary film, Thrasher Magazine and producer Patrik Wallner venture into Iran for an episode of “Visualtraveling.”

Here, they meet MJ, skateboard enthusiast and skate deck craftsman who takes the crew through the country. Running into their fair share of challenges, the crew of skaters find out first hand what it’s like to skate in the Persian region. Clocking in at just under 30 minutes, the film is a mind-expanding piece that’s definitely worth your while.

Other USA – Iran related articles: The other Iran | Tag | USA

Source:
HYPEBEAST | Thrasher Magazine travels to Iran for “Visualtraveling: The Persian Version”

First world grass skiing competitions for youth (boys and girls) in Dizin near Tehran, Iran

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The first world grass skiing competitions for youth (boys and girls) was held in Dizin slopes north of Tehran, Iran. Below are some pictures from the opening ceremony and first competition day:

To see more photos, please follow these links:
– Payvand News of Iran | Photos: Opening Ceremonies of Grass Ski Competitions in Dizin, Iran
– Payvand News of Iran | Photos: 2012 Grass Skiing World Cup in Dizin, Iran
– Iran Ski Federation |  Special images from World Cup skiing grass

 

 

The Star Students of Iran

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Source:
http://www.newsweek.com/surprising-success-irans-universities-87853

In 2003, administrators at Stanford University’s Electrical Engineering Department were startled when a group of foreign students aced the notoriously difficult Ph.D. entrance exam, getting some of the highest scores ever. The surprising thing, say Stanford administrators, is that the majority came from one country and one school: Sharif University of Science and Technology in Iran.

Stanford has become a favorite destination of Sharif grads. Bruce A. Wooley, a former chair of the Electrical Engineering Department, has said that’s because Sharif now has one of the best undergraduate electrical-engineering programs in the world. That’s no small praise given its competition: MIT, Caltech and Stanford in the United States, Tsinghua in China and Cambridge in Britain.

Iranian students from Sharif and other top schools, such as the University of Tehran and the Isfahan University of Technology, have also become major players in the international Science Olympics, taking home trophies in physics, mathematics, chemistry and robotics. As a testament to this newfound success, the Iranian city of Isfahan recently hosted the International Physics Olympiad–an honor no other Middle Eastern country has enjoyed.

[…]

Iranian students are developing an international reputation as science superstars. Stanford’s administrators aren’t the only ones to notice. Universities across Canada and Australia, where visa restrictions are lower, report a big boom in the Iranian recruits; Canada has seen its total number of Iranian students grow 240 percent since 1985, while Australian press reports point to a fivefold increase over the past five years, to nearly 1,500.

[…]

Part of the explanation, says Mohammad Mansouri, a Sharif grad (’97) who’s now a professor in New York, lies in the tendency of Iranian parents to push their kids into medicine or engineering as opposed to other fields, like law.

[…]

Several Sharif alumni point to one other powerful motivator. “When you live in Iran and you see all the frustrations of daily life, you dream of leaving the country, and your books and studies become a ticket to a better life,” says one who asked not to be identified. “It becomes more than just studying,” he says. “It becomes an obsession, where you wake up at 4 a.m. just to get in a few more hours before class.”

Iran’s success, in other words, is also the country’s tragedy: students want nothing more than to get away the moment they graduate. That’s a boon for foreign universities and tech firms but a serious source of brain drain for the Islamic Republic.

This article also appeared in:
http://newamerica.net/node/8873