Head coach of Iran’s Wrestling Federation, Rasoul Khadem [pictured above], resigns over Tehran’s policy of forcing his athletes to forfeit matches in order to avoid contact with Israeli opponents, saying how wrestler Alireza Karimi, who was banned for half year, and previous coach banned for two years was, “not right.”
By Oren Aharoni
The head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Wrestling Federation, Rasoul Khadem, announced his resignation Wednesday, only two months after being approved for the position, in protest of Iran’s rigid stance on competing against Israeli athletes.
Just recently, Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi received a six month suspension for losing on purpose to a Russian opponent during the U-23 World Championship held in Poland in November, so that he would not advance to the next round and face Israeli wrestler Yuri Kalashnikov, who won a bronze medal. Continue Reading »
To avoid refusing to face Israeli opponent by withdrawing, a political action condemned by the United World Wrestling Committee that would lead to a fine of thousands of dollars, watch Iranian wrestler told to intentionally loses match with Russian, in order to avoid advancing to face Israeli opponent.
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