Businessman, 23, Crowned Mr. Afghanistan

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By DANIEL LOVERING, Associated Press Writer
Sat Aug 13, 1:16 PM ET

KABUL, Afghanistan - Khosraw Basheri feverishly pumped iron for years, toning his body so it rippled with muscle and veins. His hard work paid off Saturday, when he claimed a historic title in his war-battered country — Mr. Afghanistan.

The 23-year-old businessman from western Herat province flexed and grinned his way to victory in Afghanistan's first-ever national competition to select a top bodybuilder.

"I will never forget this day, the day I became Mr. Afghanistan," said Basheri, sweat and makeup streaming down his massive frame. "This has been my hope for the past two years, since I started preparing myself for this."

At 96 kilograms (212 pounds), Basheri was among the heaviest contenders in the event, which featured nine weight classes and was held at a dilapidated movie theater in the Afghan capital, Kabul.

Forty-eight competitors from across the country struck poses onstage, twisting their oiled torsos to display swelling back and abdominal muscles or extending legs to show off sinewy calves. Some winced, others forced smiles.

More than 200 spectators — some wearing turbans, others three-piece suits — crammed into the theater to watch the bodybuilders, who qualified for the event by winning contests in their home provinces and represent the sport's national appeal.

"The most popular sport after football (soccer) in Afghanistan is bodybuilding," said Sayed Mohammed Payanda, secretary general of Afghanistan's National Bodybuilding Federation. "Most people in Afghanistan, especially young people, like bodybuilding very much."

It's so popular, in fact, that Arnold Schwarzenegger — the former bodybuilder and movie star turned California governor — is among the most widely recognized Western celebrities here.

Modern gyms and athletic clubs have popped up in many provinces in recent years, Payanda said, adding that some Afghan bodybuilders have returned from neighboring Pakistan and Iran since the hard-line Islamic Taliban regime was ousted in 2001 and President Hamid Karzai subsequently took office.

But Afghanistan's bodybuilding community is still reeling from the loss of its entire national team — 13 leading competitors — in a 1993 plane crash in the country's north.

"We lost most of Afghanistan's national bodybuilders, but we are trying our best to make a good team," he said.

Three Pakistani judges — all former bodybuilding champions in their home country — chose Saturday's winners from a field of musclemen who ranged ages 22-34.

Mr. Afghanistan and some of the other competitors will compete at coming regional and international championships in South Korea and China later this year, Payanda said.

Basheri, who has been lifting weights and bulking up for the past eight years, started competing professionally in 2001 and represented Afghanistan at an overseas contest in Bahrain last year.

Asked about his future hopes, the bodybuilder said: "I want my country to be peaceful and quiet and independent. There has been war here for more than 25 years, so I hope we will have peace."