The Fate of Zabol Teenagers Who Become Asian Champions

In 2003, Reza Sheikhi from Zabol became the Asian champion in Greco-Roman wrestling for youth. Thirteen years later, once again a teenager from Zabol, Omid Arami, won the gold medal at the Asian Youth Championships in Taiwan. Experts believe he could follow in the footsteps of Hamid Sourian, who had also competed in the Asian youth championships two years prior. However, Reza Sheikhi could not sustain his success at the youth level. Now, once again in Taiwan, a wrestler from Zabol stands on the top podium of Asia. Omid Arami is the third wrestler from Sistan and Baluchestan province to win the Asian youth gold medal. Reza Sheikhi won gold in 2003 in Taiwan, and Mohammad Gholami also won gold in 2009 in India. All three became Asian champions in the lightweight category. Can we hope that Omid Arami, unlike his two fellow compatriots, will achieve international success in the youth and adult categories as well? In this regard, it is necessary to see how much his local conditions and facilities differ from those of previous champions. To what extent can the wrestling federation provide an environment for his growth and advancement? The head coach of the national Greco-Roman youth team stated: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and India had two wrestlers in each weight category. We also wanted to send two wrestlers in each weight, but the federation's financial problems did not allow that. The world runner-up of 2005 spoke about the seriousness of financial problems for national teams, saying: We couldn't even reward the wrestlers who won gold medals at the Asian Championships with a single rial. It's not that we don't want to, but there is no money to give them. He continued: I urge officials to at least listen to these kids. Many of these wrestlers come from the weaker segments of society. It is my duty to pursue their rights. The national youth team coach mentioned Omid Arami and said: He has come from the villages of Zabol and has confidently won the Asian gold medal. However, he didn't even have money for a plane ticket to return to his city. He always has to travel for a day and night by bus to attend training sessions due to his young age. Ashkani recalled: 'When you sit and listen to the stories of people like him on the national team, it truly brings you to tears to see what problems they have. Every country dreams of such athletes, but our officials don't even give them a dry thank you.' Abbas Arami is a wrestling coach at Shahid Lakzai Club in Zabol County, and several of his students, such as Ali Allah Do, Hossein Ali Rakhshani, Malashahi, Amir Hossein Podineh, and Omid Arami, have reached high levels in this sport. In an interview with the 'Khabar Sistan' website, he said: Our facilities are not comparable to other parts of the country. Our children have achieved the best results with the least facilities and in poor conditions. Neither Omid nor the province's constructive coaches have even received a certificate of appreciation! Mr. Arami said: In every competition where we achieved a rank, many people came and took commemorative photos; they made promises that were later forgotten. The previous representative, Dr. Seyed Bagher Hosseini, had promised a meager reward of one million tomans to Omid. His term ended, but he did not fulfill his promise. He said: I had a suitable financial offer from Semnan, but I stayed for 'Sistan and my love for this land' to nurture the province's talents for entering wrestling.