41-year-old Iranian nurse breaks Olympic pistol shooting record, bags gold medal

A 41-year-old Iranian nurse won his country the first gold medal in pistol shooting at the Tokyo Olympics and wrote his name in history books as he broke the Olympic record in shooting, reported Iran Front Page on Saturday.

Javad Foroughi had learned shooting in the basement of a hospital where he had worked, the publication said. The 41-year-old currently works at Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps's Baghiyatallah Hospital.

Foroughi's shooting career kicked off in 2010, and later, he got the call to become a part of the national team.

As part of the IRCG team, he earlier bagged several world titles.

He has also served as a nurse during the IRGC's advisory mission in Syria against Daesh terrorists, the publication added.

The Olympics kicked off a day earlier, with an opening ceremony overshadowed by the coronavirus.

The Tokyo 2020 organisers paid tribute to medical workers as athletes from across the world paraded into an almost empty stadium, their smiles hidden behind masks for the first time.

Normally a star-studded display teeming with celebrities, the ceremony was shorn of its glitz, with fewer than 1,000 people in attendance, strict social distancing rules, and signs calling on spectators to "be quiet around the venue."

The organisers also sent the traditional message of peace as global pop stars sang John Lennon and Yoko Ono's "Imagine," while drones formed the shape of the Olympic emblem in the sky above the stadium and transformed into the shape of the globe.

"With the world in a tough situation because of the coronavirus pandemic, I would like to pay my respect and express my gratitude to medical workers and all those who are working hard every day to overcome the difficulties," said the President of the organising committee, Seiko Hashimoto.