JAIPUR, OCT 1: The scene was similar to the one seen outside an examination hall. A young girl, her hair covered with black cloth, attired in a beige-coloured tunic-like garment, walks out like an excited schoolgirl and reveals her joy in winning the second-round match to her father.Mona Salman Mahini, 14, is from Iran and one of the rare sportswomen from that country seen in international competition.Mona happens to be the best women's player among the 100 odd playing chess in Iran and is battling against 13 girls for the Asian Junior title at the Jaimahal Palace Hotel.Mona has not achieved a rating so far but her participation strengthens the belief that in an Islamic country where there is a taboo on women participation in shorts and T-shirts, chess has the best chance to gain acceptance.``More than two years ago, there were hardly any women playing, but today there are a hundred. This has also happened because the president of the national body, Jaffer Khambozia, has taken a keen interest in the game and is pumping in lot of money by urging the government to sponsor the players,'' Mona revealed to The Indian Express through an interpreter.It is no surprise then, when she reveals, that most of the players in the country are young. More importantly, chess players are treated well, thanks to the competitiveness associated in attaining the national champion status. The national champion is the one who has a good average performance over the four or five tournaments in the country. And Mona discloses that they get ``good money'' from the clubs that they represent ``around $100 a year''. She clarifies, ``In a country, where football and kushti (wrestling) are the top sports, getting some money for chess is worthwhile.''Mona represents the Bahman club and though she is not the national champion, she is considered on of the strongest in the country. And her favourite chess player? ``Of course it is (Garry) Kasparov because I want to be like him,'' she replies.Mona reveals that in Iran women have the option of playing only one other sport - ``fast walking''. The competition is about walking one km in about five minutes. Mona, who used to indulge in ``fast walking'', picked up the nuances of chess quickly after her older brother introduced the game to her.In no time she became the collegiate champion and then the best player in the country.It would take many more victories before she dons the mantle of Asian queen, but a good performance here will champion the cause of sportswomen in Iran.
