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TOKYO (AP) – Iranian defector Kimia Alizadeh narrowly missed the Refugee Olympic team’s first-ever medal, losing to Turkey’s Hatice Kübra İlgün in their bronze medal fight in taekwondo at the Olympic Games. Tokyo.
Alizadeh won bronze in Rio de Janeiro for Iran, becoming the first female Olympic medalist in her country. After defecting to Germany early last year, she qualified for Tokyo as a refugee athlete and won her first three bouts to move closer to a historic medal, but was denied in two straight losses.
After beating Iranian Nahid Kiyani Chandeh in her opener in Tokyo on Sunday, Alizadeh, 23, shocked two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones in the round of 16, beating British champion 16-12.
She beat China’s Zhou Lijun 9-8 in the quarter-finals in a touching last-minute rally, but lost to Russian opponent Tatiana Minina 10-3 in the semifinals of the 57-kilogram women’s division.
Alizadeh had a small lead after the first round against İlgün, but failed to score again until it was too late to catch up.
The refugee team has never won an Olympic medal in its two Games since it was founded in 2016 to provide opportunities for victims of political persecution and war. Ten athletes competed in his first Games in Rio, and he has three taekwondo competitors – all training in Germany – among his 29 athletes in Tokyo.
Alizadeh became an 18-year-old heroine in Iran for her Olympic success, but she cited institutional sexism and the compulsory wearing of the hijab veil in her critiques of the Iranian system when she decided to defect. She lambasted Iran for using it for propaganda purposes in a passionate letter announcing its defection on social media, calling the decision “more difficult than winning Olympic gold.”
Alizadeh had not competed between 2018 and this year due to injuries before leaving Iran, but the postponement of the Tokyo Games caused by a pandemic helped Alizadeh reach the Olympics again: she achieved the status of refugee in Germany last February, allowing him to compete in the European qualifications.
Alizadeh opened her race in Tokyo by beating Kiyani, her close friend, who wore a headscarf for their fight. Alizadeh entered the lobby of the Makuhari Messe convention center with her head uncovered and hair free. She recognized the Iranian coaching staff afterwards.
Alizadeh’s best moment in Tokyo was a huge upheaval for Jones, who was trying to become the first triple gold medalist in taekwondo and the first British woman in any sport to win gold in three Olympics. consecutive.
Their fight was tied 10-10 with just 30 seconds left, but Alizadeh scored a pair of two-point body kicks to take the lead before hanging on for the four-point victory.
Alizadeh shouted and celebrated with his coach as the small crowd of Olympians and support staff in the arena erupted with astonished roars during the taekwondo tournament’s biggest upheaval.
Zhou took a 6-4 lead in the third round of their quarter-final, but Alizadeh tied him on a body kick with 90 seconds left. Alizadeh jumped three points ahead on a dramatic header with 40 seconds left, but Zhou responded with a two-point kick to the body moments later.
Alizadeh stepped out of trouble in the dying seconds and hung on for a win that left her prone on the mat in celebration.
Alizadeh is very popular on social media, where she added several thousand more fans to her Instagram account in the hours immediately following her victory over Jones.
It was the latest in a series of high-profile defections from the Iranian sports system by athletes dissatisfied with the government’s treatment and policies.
In April, the International Judo Federation suspended Iran for four years because the nation refused to allow its fighters to confront the Israelis. The IJF said Iran’s policies came to light when former Iranian judo competitor Saeid Mollaei claimed he was ordered to lose in the semi-finals of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo to avoid potentially face Israeli world champion Sagi Muki in the final.
Mollaei defected to Germany in 2019, and he is representing Mongolia at the Tokyo Olympics when he starts competing on Tuesday.
Alireza Faghani, a prominent international football referee, left Iran for Australia in 2019.
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More AP: https://apnews.com/hub/2020-tokyo-olympics and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
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