The Iranian president has lauded the medal winners of the 2010 Asian Games, expressing hope that the country's squad gets a better result in the next Asian tournament, Press TV reported.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad made the remarks in a ceremony at Tehran's Azadi Complex on Sunday to pay tribute to the medalists of the 16th Asian Games held in Guangzhou, China, Mehr news agency reported.
President Ahmadinejad said the Iranian nation is proud of the athletes.
"I am very glad that Iran finished fourth in Asia. Iranian athletes have taken a big step, however... I believe Iranians can do better," Ahmadinejad said.
He went on to say that Iranian athletes can move up to the second place in the 2014 Asian Games, in Incheon, South Korea.
Iranian athletes took home a total of 59 medals (20 gold, 14 silver, and 25 bronze medals). It was the best result for Iran since the 1974 Asian Games in Tehran.
Iran bagged 12 gold medals and finished sixth at the previous edition of the games in Doha, Qatar.
China swept the competition with 416 medals in total. The host nation won most medals for the 8th straight time with 199 gold medals.
South Korea was second with 232 medals (76 gold), and Japan was third with a total of 216 medals (48 gold).
Kazakhstan was fifth with a total of 79 medals. India, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, Thailand and Malaysia finished in 6th to 10th places respectively.
Some 9,700 athletes from 45 countries competed in 42 sports in the 15-day competition, making the 2010 Asiad the largest event in the history of the Asian Games.
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