He first witnessed diving at a swimming pool near his childhood home in Iran, where other children were apparently somersaulting into the water.

[5] Askari made his Asian Games debut in the inaugural edition of the multi-sport event in 1951 which was held in New Delhi and he competed in the men's diving competitions.

Surprisingly, only two nations including hosts India and Iran entered the diving competitions during the 1951 Asian Games.

He was the center of attention and received substantial significant media coverage during the course of the 2024 World Aquatics Masters Championships, as he defied the odds and broke the stereotypes pertaining to the age factor by participating in the World Aquatics Masters Championships at the age of 100, to become the oldest competitor in the history of the competition.

[8][9] He was also overwhelmed with a lot of crowd support cheering for him after performing an exhibition dive during the 2024 World Aquatics Championships, and he broke down with tears in an emotional manner after having made a comeback to the sport, which he pursued during his teenage years.