Iran's Paralympic Gold Medal Lost Due to 'Unathletic Joy' and Use of Religious Symbol

On the tenth day of the Paris Paralympics, Iran's delegation lost one of its gold medals due to the athlete's 'unathletic joy' and the use of a religious flag. On Saturday, September 8, Sadegh Bit-Siah achieved a throw of 47 meters and 61 centimeters in the F41 javelin event, not only winning the gold medal but also setting a Paralympic record. The 37-year-old athlete from Ahvaz, who had previously won a silver medal at the Tokyo Paralympics, brought Iran its seventh gold medal, elevating the country to fifteenth place in the medal table. However, shortly after, the organizing committee disqualified Bit-Siah from the competition and revoked his valuable medal. After breaking the Paralympic record, Bit-Siah made a gesture resembling 'beheading' by drawing his hand under his neck, which led to him receiving a yellow card for unathletic behavior. Following his victory, he held a flag with a religious inscription, an act deemed against Paralympic regulations, resulting in a second yellow card and his disqualification. According to regulations, the use of political or religious symbols is not permitted in the Paralympics. In light of these developments, Ali-Asghar Hadi-Zadeh, head of Iran's athletics team, implicitly confirmed the second yellow card and claimed that the athlete's use of the religious flag was 'without the knowledge and coordination of officials,' asserting that Bit-Siah's first gesture was merely a sign of 'record-breaking.' However, the organizing committee did not accept Iran's objection based on this justification and awarded the gold medal to 'Naudip,' an Indian athlete. Naudip achieved a throw of 47 meters and 32 centimeters, 31 centimeters less than Bit-Siah's throw, to win silver. Iranian officials have announced plans to contest this decision again; however, for now, without accounting for Bit-Siah's medal, Iran stands at twenty-second place in the medal table with 6 golds, 10 silvers, and 7 bronzes, totaling 23 medals. The use of religious symbols by Iranian athletes in international competitions is not a new issue and has repeatedly faced objections from other countries and organizing committees. However, in recent years, the scrutiny from organizers has intensified, a matter that has caught the attention of Iranian team leaders. Refusal to compete against Israeli rivals is another action by Iranian athletes that is considered against international regulations. The Islamic Republic does not recognize Israel and prohibits Iranian athletes from competing against Israeli opponents or even shaking hands with them on the podium. With the increasing sensitivity of organizing committees and international federations, Iranian sports officials have resorted to the tactic of 'feigning injury' to avoid penalties for refusing to compete against Israeli rivals; for instance, in the same Paris Paralympics, Saeed Sadeghianpour in the under-63 kg para-taekwondo category, after losing in the quarter-finals, was supposed to face Adnan Milad, an Arab Israeli athlete; however, he claimed 'injury' and went to the hospital, missing the chance to win a bronze medal.