TEHRAN – Iranian Para canoe athlete Shahla Behrouzi Rad has expressed her desire for the sport.

Behrouzi Rad, who started her career as a discus thrower, represented Iran at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Para canoe.

Now, she says that the sport gives her peace of mind. She trains at home since all sports have been suspended for months due to COVID-19.  

“I won a gold medal in Samarkand, Uzbekistan in 2016, thanks to my family for encouraging me to do the sport,” Behrouzi Rad said. “Canoeing give me the peace of mind and I want to keep going.”

“In the 2016 ICF Paracanoe World Championships I booked my place in the final but at the 2016 Paralympics I finished in ninth place and failed to qualify for the final. It was a great experience for me and will be helpful for the next Paralympic Games,” she added.

2016 Olympic gold medal winner Hassan Yazdani is her role medal and Behrouzi Rad praised him on and off the field.

“Sportsmanship is my priority. I want to be like Yazdani,” the para athlete went on to say.

“I stay at home due to coronavirus and train but I am sure the good days will return when life will get back to normal,” Behrouzi Rad concluded.

Para canoe first featured with exhibition status under the name “paddleability” at the 2009 Canoe Sprint World Championships in Dartmouth, Canada, and was given official status as Para canoe at the following year’s edition in Poznan, Poland.

In 2010, the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced that the sport would be part of the 2016 Paralympic Games program with six events in kayak.