Iranian Kids Claim Title at Mental Arithmetic World Championship

The annual Pama Global Abacus and Mental Arithmetic Championships 2017 was held on December 28 in Sandton, a district of Johannesburg, South Africa.

The Iranian team, comprised of 11 students aged 5 to 12 years, ranked first among 300 students from 21 countries, a Farsi report by IRNA said.

The students are from Kermanshah, Alborz and Tehran provinces.

Iranian schoolgirl Niayesh Farahbakhsh was also recognized as ‘the champion of champions’.

In the A class, Diba Mollaee, Mohammad Hatef Dehqan, Sina Taqizadeh, Niyayesh Farahbakhsh and Amir Keramati managed to achieve a gold medal each.

Also in the Class B, Komeil Sharif, Setayesh Yavari, Arya Piri, Pante’a Ezzati, Fatemeh Rostami and Bahar Rouhafza claimed the title.

The next year’s edition of the event will be held in Malaysia.

The championship is an example of what can be achieved with early intervention in abacus math and mental arithmetic education. The purpose of the competition is to allow for the observation of mental arithmetic skills from all countries, to promote abacus and mental arithmetic education, and to improve friendships among participants from around the world.