Tehran: Iranian competitive climber Elnaz Rekabi received a hero's welcome on her return to Tehran early Wednesday, after competing in South Korea without wearing a mandatory headscarf required of female athletes from the Islamic Republic.

Video shared online showed large crowds gathered early Wednesday at Imam Khomeini International Airport outside of Tehran, the sanctioned nation's main gateway out of the country. The videos, corresponding to known features of the airport, showed crowds chanting the 33-year-old Rekabi's name and calling her a hero.

Although she only finished fourth in the competition, Rekabi represented Iran without wearing a hijab and gained a lot of attention.

The organizers also informed that there were no special conditions related to wearing hijab in the competition.

After the killing of a 22-year-old Iranian woman named Mahsa Amini for not wearing the hijab properly, there are huge protests in the country. It is concluded that Rekabi decided to compete without wearing a hijab by declaring solidarity with this protest.

But Rekabi responded through social media that not wearing the hijab was not intentional and apologized to the people of Iran for the incident.
Rekabi has taken a controversial stance on wearing the hijab before. In a 2016 interview with a French media outlet, she said that wearing hijab-like clothing during matches poses physical challenges.

Rekabi also said that she often had trouble wearing the hijab due to overheating.

Rekabi Boxer Sadaf Khadem is not the first Iranian athlete to break hijab rules, having previously competed without a headscarf and in shorts.

Sadaf Khadam was the first woman to win boxing abroad in 2019 after the Islamic Revolution in Iran. They remained in France after the match as the government issued an arrest warrant.