Rasoul Khadem Resigns from Wrestling Federation Presidency

Rasoul Khadem, who had previously resigned from his position in Esfand 1396 (March 2018), has once again resigned following the conclusion of the World Championships in Budapest, Hungary. Mr. Khadem had previously stepped down after a prolonged struggle with sports leaders and government officials regarding the crisis of facing Israeli athletes, following the six-month suspension of Alireza Karimi. His resignation was not accepted during two separate extraordinary meetings of the Wrestling Federation, leading him to return after 43 days. Now, in a letter to the assembly members, he has resigned again after seven months, stating: "In the face of the honorable conduct of the heads of the committees and their insistence against the currents that opposed this return, a rational accounting was not permissible. I do not regret it, although my resources were limited and there were many hardships." Khadem wrote that due to an increase in technical errors resulting from the lack of participation in preparatory competitions, "we will fall behind our rivals, and it will reach a point where our concern will no longer be competing with Russian and American opponents, but rather, like six or seven years after 1357 (1979), we will even be worried about competing with Pakistani rivals." The holder of three gold medals in the World and Olympics wrote in his letter: "Neither defeats are discouraging nor victories are lasting. What is painfully torturous is the poverty and oppression of the wrestling family. I have tried to make the dignitaries and elites understand this oppression." This year, Iranian wrestling, prior to the senior world championships in Hungary, became champions in seven out of eight Asian and world events across various age categories, with one third-place finish, alongside successes in initiating women's wrestling activities. The head coach of the national team wrote: "It is not pleasant to demand your national sports rights from a high-ranking official every day and then receive nothing but silence or 'it is what it is' in response, following the political tradition. Perhaps there are others who can pursue responsibility under these conditions." Khadem also urged the Ministry of Sports to hold the wrestling electoral assembly "as soon as possible" given the approximately 21 months remaining until the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. He emphasized: "All my essence is from wrestling, but I ask the federation assembly members to allow me to relieve myself of this burden and that this time we do not witness any further follow-up for a change in my decision."