TEHRAN, July 25 -- A 41-year old Iranian male nurse, who honed his skills to shoot with an air pistol in a hospital basement, earned Iran its first gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Saturday.
Javad Foroughi, the first-time Olympian, set a new Olympic record of 244.8 points in men's 10m air pistol event, clinching the first shooting gold for Iran in Olympic history.
The oldest member of the Iranian contingent at the Tokyo Olympics, Foroughi held his nerve to romp home victorious in the thrilling final, with Serbia's Damir Mikec claiming silver, and China's Pang Wei winning bronze.
Soon after firing the winning shot at the Asaka Shooting Range, Foroughi took out a small prayer mat and went into prostration, an answer to years of his pray...