2025 World Games a valuable experience: Pourabdian

TEHRAN – Iran’s women’s canoe polo captain, Elahe Pourabdian, is not satisfied with seventh place at the Chengdu World Games, but says that competing in the event was a valuable experience for the team.

Iran competed in the Games for the first time and has a long road ahead to reach the sport’s elite.

“We finished seventh, and I must say that participating in the World Games for the first time was extremely exciting for us. We competed against seven of the world’s top teams, and the level of competition was as high as the Olympics. All the teams we faced have attended every edition of the Games and have won titles,” Pourabdian told Vatan News in an exclusive interview.

“Competing at this level was astonishing for all of us, and although we return home empty-handed, we gained a tremendously valuable experience. I must admit that seventh place isn’t satisfying for us, especially since we didn’t expect a medal given the strength of the opponents. We hoped to finish fourth or fifth,” she added.

Pourabdian noted that the country’s wartime conditions forced them to miss training camps and that they hadn’t participated in any tournaments since finishing fourth 10 months ago, while other teams took part in four or five events.

“Some teams even held simulated World Games experiences in training camps, but Iran could not compete in any tournaments and trained in Tehran. Nevertheless, it was a valuable experience. I’ve  been active in this sport for 16 years and have never seen such a high level of competition.

“We played against the world’s canoe polo giants in this tournament and returned home with a wealth of experience. We lost to Germany and New Zealand, who were both finalists. The Netherlands and Italy are also contending for bronze at the Games. In other words, all the teams we narrowly lost to ended up finishing first to fourth,” Pourabdian concluded.