TEHRAN:Iranian athlete Rozhan Goudarzi withdrew from a taekwondo tournament in Kenya after refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent, local media reported Wednesday.
Iran does not recognize Israel and prohibits any contact between Iranian and Israeli athletes.
As a result, Iranian athletes have long avoided competing against Israelis, often by withdrawing, seeking disqualification or presenting medical certificates.
“Rozhan Goudarzi withdrew from the competition at the U-21 World Taekwondo Championships because she was in the same group as an athlete from the Zionist regime,” ISNA news agency reported.
It added that Goudarzi had been due to face the Israeli competitor in the first round.
Iranian officials protested against placing an Iranian athlete in the same group as an Israeli, but the World Taekwondo Federation said it could not alter the competition schedule, the agency added.
Last month, Goudarzi won a bronze medal for Iran in the women’s under 51 kg category at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
In August 2023, authorities handed Iranian weightlifter Mostafa Rajaei a lifetime ban after he shook hands with an Israeli competitor at an event in Poland.
Young chess prodigy Alireza Firouzja left Iran after the national federation barred him from the 2019 world championship out of concern he might face an Israeli player.
He is now a naturalized French citizen.
In 2021, Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged athletes “not to shake hands with a representative of the (Israeli) criminal regime to obtain a medal.”
In June, Iran and Israel went to war for the first time after Israel launched an unprecedented attack against Iran, triggering a 12-day conflict in which the United States joined with strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.
Iranian pulls out of taekwondo tournament over bout with Israeli
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Iranian pulls out of taekwondo tournament over bout with Israeli
- Iranian athlete Rozhan Goudarzi withdrew from a taekwondo tournament in Kenya after refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent, local media reported Wednesday
Norway’s Carlsen wins first FIDE Freestyle World Chess Championship
Norway’s Magnus Carlsen added another crown to his collection on Sunday by becoming the first official FIDE Freestyle Chess world champion after a comeback win over Fabiano Caruana in Germany.
The chess master secured the title with a cautious draw in the fourth and final game, clinching a 2.5–1.5 match victory against his 33-year-old American opponent in Weissenhaus.
Sunday’s turning point came in the thrilling third game, in which Carlsen, 35, pulled off a stunning win from a seemingly lost position, swinging the entire contest in his favor.
The world number one only needed a draw in the decisive fourth game, and that’s exactly what he got in an equal endgame, with Caruana missing late opportunities to mount a comeback.
Carlsen has now won 21 world titles in various formats.
The World Championship marked a breakthrough collaboration between FIDE and private organizer Freestyle Chess, staging the first officially recognized title in this format.
Carlsen had previously failed to capture the FIDE Fischer Random World Championship, making this victory particularly sweet for the chess great.
In the bronze medal match, Uzbekistan’s Nodirbek Abdusattorov beat Germany’s Vincent Keymer, securing his spot by drawing from a winning position in the final game.
Both finalists and Abdusattorov have qualified for next year’s championship.
The tournament’s lower placings saw Hans Niemann of the United States take fifth with a 2-0 victory over India’s Arjun Erigaisi, while Armenia’s Levon Aronian won his Armageddon game against Uzbekistan’s Javokhir Sindarov for seventh place.
In the women’s exhibition match, Kazakhstan’s Bibisara Assaubayeva prevailed over Switzerland’s Alexandra Kosteniuk after their final encounter ended in a draw.
