ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Three Kurdish sisters from Erbil won a total of 12 medals, including nine gold prizes, in an international weightlifting competition that was held in the Kurdistan Region in late December.
Sixteen countries took part in the Arabic Champion for Weightlifting Youth, Junior Senior held in the town of Shaqlawa in the Erbil province from December 24 to 31.
The three sisters were part of Iraq’s weightlifting team. The youngest, Inas Muhsin, 20, won six gold medals and was named the sportsperson of the championship by the organizers of the event.
Israa Muhsin, 22, won three gold while the eldest sister Oshin Muhsin, 24, attained three silver medals.
“My ultimate dream is to compete on international level be it the Olympics or the Asian competition,” Israa told Rudaw’s Muhammad Karezy on Tuesday. “It would be a great honor, to take part as a Kurdish girl.”
The sisters were trained by their late father Muhsin, who was a champion and an international certified trainer himself. He died of coronavirus complications last year.
“It has been ten years that we are doing this sport and we take part in Arab, Kurdistan competitions, we secured good results and that’s because we believed in ourselves,” the eldest, Oshin, told Rudaw’s Saman Welatzheri on Sunday. “All this goes back to all the hard work of our deceased father who helped us reach this stage.”
Oshin noted that Iraq and the Kurdistan Region have neglected individual sports, which are games where only one person plays and competes.
She called on the authorities to pay more attention to individual players given the potential in the country.
“Every sportswoman wants to take part in bigger competitions, I call on the KRG and ministry of culture and those who are influential to take notice of the individual player,” she said. “We won all these medals and we have been neglected.”
Following the event, the Kurdistan Region Presidency in a tweet congratulated the youngest sister, Inas, for winning six gold medals.
“Without a doubt, I am very very happy, that the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region congratulated me, this is an important support,” she told Rudaw. “I hope to obtain better results in the next competitions and would be a great honor for Kurdistan.”
Inas Muhsin, a Kurdish athlete, won six gold medals at Arabic Champion for Weightlifting in Erbil province’s Shaqlawa on Tuesday.
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) December 28, 2021
Kurdistan Region Presidency congratulated her for the achievement.
📸: Bilind T. Abdullah pic.twitter.com/QZUuKaCh5V
The three sisters told Rudaw they had also received a congratulatory phone call from an official from the presidency office. The official reportedly told them that Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani would meet with them in the new year.
In their just over ten-year career, the three sisters have collectively won 71 gold Olympic medals.
