Iran's Youth Boxing Team Will Not Compete in World Championships; 'For the Sake of Honor'

Ten days before the start of the World Youth Boxing Championships, the Iranian Boxing Federation has decided to refrain from sending the national youth team to Russia. The Vice President of the Boxing Federation believes that sending this team to the world competitions will only result in 'loss and a decline in their morale.' Rouhollah Hosseini told ISNA news agency: 'This decision is for the honor of Iranian boxing. We do not want our young athletes to lose on the first night. We want to send them to competitions where they can win medals.' Hosseini noted that this same team did not win any medals at the Asian Championships and suffered a decline in morale. Critics of the Boxing Federation question why an organization that has had stable management for the past 27 years is afraid to send the national team to the World Youth Championships. If the youth do not participate in these prestigious competitions and gain experience, how can one hope for their future? Iran's boxing has not yet won a single bronze medal at the world level. Did the federation not have enough time in these 27 years for planning, development, and achieving success? The members of the youth national team will enter the adult category next year, where the level of competition is significantly higher than that of the youth. Will they also be absent in future competitions to avoid 'loss and decline in morale'? Most members of the youth national team have been in training camps for a long time and were also sent to the Asian competitions and the international tournament in Ukraine. What were the shortcomings of the training camps that no progress was made in their preparation? Whatever the answers to these questions may be, the Boxing Federation, under the management of Ahmad Nategh Nouri for nearly three decades, has adopted a strategy of 'avoiding competition due to fear of defeat.' The Vice President of the Boxing Federation considers losing in world competitions to be a cause of disgrace for Iran, while winning and losing are inevitable outcomes in sports competitions. Is there any honor left for Iranian boxing on the global stage that can be preserved by avoiding competition? The national youth boxing competitions were held in the city of Gorgan. Mehran Yousefi and Reza Hasani, two members of the national team sent to the World Youth Championships, were able to become champions in these competitions. However, this success will not lead to their participation in Russia. The former Vice President of this federation opposes the decision not to send the youth team and states that the mentioned reason is an excuse, and the national team should go to the competitions even with two or three members. Manoochehr Maqsoudi told ISNA: 'The benefits of participating in world competitions outweigh the harms. If the federation focuses on results in this category, it will certainly suffer in the future.' Former national boxing team coach Hossein Nahrudi also stated that the federation could have had a better situation in this category now with better planning for the youth team.