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iran - Sports
Picture of Azadi Football Stadium, Iran's famous venue for Iranian football (soccer).
[[Iran's famous venue for Iranian football (soccer).]]
Picture of International Snowboard championship in Dizin. The ski resort of Dizin is situated to the north of Tehran in the Alborz Mountains range.
[[Snowboard championship in Dizin. The ski resort of Dizin is situated to the north of Tehran in the Alborz Mountains range.]]
With two thirds of Iran's population under the age of 25, sports constitutes a highly active portion of Iran's society, both traditional and modern. Iran hence was the birthplace of sports such as polo, [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4272210.stm backgammon, "Persian-journal" Varzesh-e Pahlavani, and even indigenous modern martial arts styles such as Shinzen Karate 1 and Kan-zen-ryu . 1 Tehran was furthermore the first city in the Middle East to host the Asian Games in 1974.
Today, the most popular sport in Iran is football (soccer), with national team being a World Cup finalist three times, and having won the Asian Cup on three occasions. However, freestyle Wrestling is traditionally referred to as Iran's national sport.
Iran is home to several unique skiing resorts, [http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000088&sid=aGpcjac1ZTF8&refer=culture with the Tochal resort being the world's fifth-highest ski resort (3,730 m at its highest station) situated only fifteen minutes away from Tehran. Being a mountainous country, Iran offers enthusiasts abundant challenges for hiking, rock climbing, 1 and mountain climbing. 1 1 1
Women are primarily active in volleyball and badminton, but even in rallying, female drivers participate in national rally tournaments, such as Iran's successful female driver Laleh Seddigh.