Potential Competitions Between Iranian and Israeli Athletes at the 2016 Rio Olympics

There is a possibility of confrontation and competition between Iranian and Israeli athletes in several sports at the 2016 Olympics. Radio Farda has dedicated a report to examine this issue. In taekwondo, Farzan Ashourzadeh is one of the most promising members of Iran's delegation and one of 16 participants in the 58 kg category. He has stated to ISNA about his opponents: "I have analyzed all 15 of my rivals, and all 15 are tough competitors." One of these 15 is Ron Atias, the representative of Israel and champion of the European qualifying competitions. It is unclear why Farzan has analyzed his games, as there has been no change in the sports policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. In the 66 kg judo competition, Alireza Khajasteh will compete. There are 35 participants in this weight category, one of whom is Golan Polak, the third-ranked in the world from Israel. Iranian judo does not have pleasant memories regarding this issue. Mir Esmaeili was the flag bearer of Iran's sports delegation at the Athens Olympics but withdrew from the match due to facing an Israeli opponent. He was welcomed at the airport by Gholamali Haddad Adel, the then Speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly, and several members of parliament. Mir Esmaeili received the same reward that was designated for a gold medal. In the London Olympics, Javad Mohajoub did not accompany the sports delegation despite qualifying because he could not compete against Ariel Ziv from Israel. Mohajoub is among the record holders in this regard, having avoided competition with Ziv three times: first in the China Grand Prix, second in the Uzbekistan World Cup, and then in the London Olympics! Israel has two representatives in the 2016 Olympic marathon: Tzama Mogas and Ageza Guadi. For Iran, Mohammad Jafar Moradi has also qualified. Although the competition between these athletes is not direct, in the Beijing Olympics, an Iranian swimmer did not dive into the water due to being in the same group as an Israeli opponent. In 2011, at the World Swimming Championships hosted by China, Mohammad Alirezaei withdrew from the competition because he was in the same group as Israeli swimmer Gal Nivou. Alirezaei told Mehr News Agency: "I withdrew from competing with the Israeli swimmer in order to honor the sacred ideals of the Islamic Republic of Iran." This was the second time he could not swim in a pool where an Israeli swimmer was present; the first time was during the Beijing Olympics. His withdrawal in Shanghai prompted a reaction from the International Swimming Federation: "The pool is only for competition. If we are certain that this decision was made for political reasons, there may be sanctions against Iran." Pouria Norouzian, Iran's representative in the 10-meter air rifle, has a competitor from Israel named Sergey Richter. In a sporting competition, the two shooters will shoot towards the target. In weightlifting, in the super heavyweight category, Behdad Salimi, the defending champion from Iran, will also compete against Igor Olshansky. Given the difference in records, the Israeli and Iranian representatives will not be in the same group. In this context, the historic rise of Iranian volleyball to the Olympics, and the failure of Iranian basketball to qualify for the Olympics, are also noteworthy.