Bani Tamim Replaces Rasoul Khadem as Head of Wrestling Federation

Following Rasoul Khadem's resignation from the presidency of the Wrestling Federation, Minister of Sports and Youth Hamid Bani Tamim was appointed as the caretaker of the Wrestling Federation. Bani Tamim previously served as the vice president of the Wrestling Federation and has experience as the secretary of the federation. After Khadem's resignation from the vice presidency, he had resigned, but now, by the order of Massoud Soltani Far, he will take on the responsibilities of the caretaker until the federation's electoral assembly is held. A former Greco-Roman wrestler from Khuzestan province, he has a championship title from the 2004 World University Championships held in Poland. In 2006, he stood on the third podium in the 55 kg category at the Asian Senior Championships in Kazakhstan. He was also a member of the national team in the Busan Asian Games. After Khadem's previous resignation, which lasted 43 days, Bani Tamim took over the federation's administration. At that time, Khadem accused the Ministry of Sports of neglecting wrestling and its champions. The Ministry of Sports' news site quoted Bani Tamim as saying: 'Soltani Far has repeatedly attended various events and met with wrestling champions, and his congratulatory messages for the successes of wrestling are encouraging.' Bani Tamim denied this interview, stating on the Wrestling Federation's website: 'Unfortunately, my comments have been selectively reflected by the Ministry of Sports and have been completely one-sided. Our complaints and demands have not been reflected in that. Such behaviors are not in the interest of sports or wrestling.' Now, once again temporarily taking on the responsibility of Iran's most prestigious sport, he says: my top priority is to ensure a strong presence of Iranian wrestling at the Tokyo Olympics. The Ministry of Sports' website quoted Bani Tamim as saying: 'Given the calendar that has been developed, even if I am in this position for just 10 days, the focus of the programs will be on the Olympics. We will prepare the groundwork for holding the Wrestling Federation elections as soon as possible.' While news about the potential cancellation of the Iranian national youth team's participation in the World Championships in Bucharest due to currency issues has been published, Bani Tamim stated: 'With the assistance of the Ministry of Sports and securing the necessary currency and rial expenses, Iran's youth will be sent to the World Championships in Romania.' Will the national team coaches change? The discussions about the presence of Hamid Sourian or the return of Mohammad Bana in Greco-Roman wrestling and the use of Akbar Fallah in freestyle wrestling have been raised. Bani Tamim regarding possible changes said: 'We will not make quick decisions in this regard and will discuss it in the coming days. I hope I can fulfill this heavy responsibility well and meet the expectations of the people from wrestling.'