By Daniel Etchells

Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, praised the achievements of the Iranian athletes at the 2014 Asian Para-Games ©NPC IranIranian medallists from the 2014 Asian Para-Games have been congratulated by the country's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, at a ceremony.

The Iranian team finished in fourth place in the overall standings in Incheon, South Korea after winning 37 gold, 52 silver and 31 bronze medals to surpass the team's achievement at the inaugural 2010 Games in Guangzhou.

As well as lauding the achievements of the athletes, Khamenei, who has held his position since 1989, thanked all the officials involved in the road to success and stressed the need to continue to promote sport in Iran to improve public health.

In attendance at the ceremony were the country's Minister of Youth Affairs and Sport, Mahmoud Goudarzi, and representatives from the National Olympic Committee and National Paralympic Committee of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Javellin thrower Erfan Hosseini claimed a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Para-Games ©Getty ImagesJavellin thrower Erfan Hosseini claimed a gold medal at the 2014 Asian Para-Games
©Getty Images



Athletics yielded 72 medals for Iran, while swimming and powerlifting proved productive with 13 and eight respectively.

Among the gold medallists were javelin thrower Erfan Hosseini, discus thrower Alireza Mokhtari Hemami, and 1500 metres T20 runner Peyman Nasiri.

The 120 medals won in Incheon takes Iran's overall medals tally at the Asian Para-Games to 200, having won 80 at Guangzhou 2010. 

In total, 200 athletes competed across 16 sports.

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