Iran will send camel riders to an international competition for the first time, after its sports authorities approved participation in the Islamic Solidarity Games slated for November in Saudi Arabia, the head of the country’s rural and nomadic sports federation said on Monday.
Alireza Pasandideh, who leads the Federation of Rural and Nomadic Sports and Indigenous Games, said the Ministry of Sports and Iran’s National Olympic Committee had granted permission for the camel racing team to attend.
“Two athletes, a man and a woman, will travel to compete,” he told Iran’s ISNA news agency.
Camel racing is one of the listed disciplines at the Islamic Solidarity Games, which bring together athletes from members of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.
He added that four Iranian camel riders had been invited to an international training camp in Abu Dhabi in October to prepare athletes for the Asian Youth Games in Bahrain. The camp, organized by the World Federation of Camel Racing, will be held in October.
