Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei may compete in Israel next month
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who recently received Mongolian citizenship, will come to Israel in January to compete at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix, Army Radio reported.
Mollaei, who competed under the International Judo Federation refugee team at the Osaka Grand Slam last month, was given Mongolian citizenship on Monday, and has reportedly decided to compete in the Tel Aviv Grand Prix in order to qualify for the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
According to the report, after Mollaei consulted with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga and IJF head Marius Vizer, he decided to compete in Israel next month. The report also stated that Israel Judo Association president Moshe Ponte will go to Mongolia this weekend to meet with the three in hopes of making Mollaei’s visit official. Mollaei reportedly showed Vizer correspondence with his family in Iran, revealing that many death threats were sent to them.
Even before coming to Israel, Mollaei will possibly face Israeli judoka Sagi Muki at the Qingdao Masters in China next week. In case the draw happens to pit the two against each other, it will be their first meeting on the judo mat.
After competing in Osaka, Muki congratulated Mollaei on Instagram for returning to the judo mat and participating in his first competition since the World Championship in Tokyo. Mollaei, in turn, thanked Muki for his support and added:
“Good luck to you all the time, my best friend.”
In his own Instagram post, Mollaei posted a picture of both of them standing together and claimed: “This is true friendship and a win for sports and judo over politics.”
Other than Mollaei, two judokas from the United Arab Emirates, Ivan Remarenco and Victor Scvortov, will also be competing at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix. Although born in Moldova, the two will be competing under the UAE flag.
Israeli athletes have competed in the UAE in the past but were not allowed to display the Israeli flag on their judo uniform.
Another Iranian judoka, Mohammad Rashnonezhad, who is currently considered a refugee and is seeking asylum in the Netherlands, will be competing in Tel Aviv as part of the IJF refugee team.