He calls himself a soldier of his country and Iran's newly-crowned 10m air pistol men's Olympic champion Javad Foroughi certainly lives up to that proclamation, having served as a hospital nurse in COVID-19 wards in the run-up to the Games. Tokyo Olympics | Full Schedule | Sports News
The 41-year-old Foroughi set an Olympic record of 244.8 points en route to gold on Saturday, the field also featuring India's Saurabh Chaudhary who finished seventh after topping the qualifications.
"I am very happy because I'm the first ever Iranian champion in pistol and rifle. Iran had never won a medal, even a bronze medal, in the history of the Olympics and I took gold," Foroughi said in the mixed zone after his triumph.
"I am very happy I could do well as a country's soldier..."
A lesser known aspect of his life is his work as nurse during the COVID-19 pandemic, because of which he even tested positive for the virus last year.
"I am a nurse and I work in the hospital, especially during the COVID pandemic. My COVID test was positive last year because I work in the hospital and after recovering I started my training again for the Olympics," he recalled.
He got infected once again after recovering the first time around and had to even give up his training for a month.