Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei says he ll never forget kindness of Israeli team ahead of Tel Aviv tournament
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who refused to return home after being ordered to withdraw from the 2019 World Judo Championships to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, is set to compete in the Grand Slam in Tel Aviv.
Posted: Feb 20, 2021 1:00 PM
Updated: Feb 20, 2021 1:00 PM
Posted By: By Ben Church, CNN
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei, who refused to return home after being ordered to withdraw from the 2019 World Judo Championships to avoid facing an Israeli opponent, says he will never forget the kindness he s been shown by the Israeli judo team as he prepares to compete in a major tournament in Tel Aviv.
UPDATE 3-Judoka who fled Iran over Israeli matchup wins silver in Tel Aviv Grand Slam Reuters 2/19/2021
By Rami Ayyub
TEL AVIV, Feb 19 (Reuters) - An Iranian judoka who fled his country after ignoring orders to drop out of a match in 2019 to avoid facing an Israeli won a silver medal on Friday at an international tournament in Israel.
Saeid Mollaei, a 2018 judo world champion, fled Iran for Germany after saying Iranian authorities had put pressure on him to drop out of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo to avoid a potential final round against Israeli contender Sagi Muki.
Mollaei, who refused to pull out and reached the semi-final in Tokyo, gained refugee status in Germany and later became a citizen of Mongolia, which he represented at the International Judo Federation s Tel Aviv Grand Slam.
Israeli judoka Timna Nelson Levy wins gold medal at Tel Aviv Grand Slam timesofisrael.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from timesofisrael.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
<div class="at-above-post addthis tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/judoka-who-fled-iran/"></div>TEL AVIV (Reuters) – An Iranian judoka who fled his country after ignoring orders to drop out of a match in 2019 to avoid facing an Israeli won a silver medal on Friday at an international tournament in Israel. Saeid Mollaei, a 2018 judo world champion, fled Iran for Germany after saying Iranian authorities had […]<! AddThis Advanced Settings above via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Advanced Settings below via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Share Buttons above via filter on get the excerpt ><! AddThis Share Buttons below via filter on get the excerpt ><div class="at-below-post addthis tool" data-url="https://www.metro.us/judoka-who-fled-iran/"></div><! AddThis Share Buttons generic via fi
Azerbaijani judoka Davud Mammadsoy (60kg) has qualified for the final of Tel Aviv Grand Slam 2021.
Mammadsoy defeated German Moritz Plafky, Indian Vijay Kumar, Kazakh Gusman Kyrgyzbayev and Russian Ramazan Abdullayev.
Notably, Tel Aviv Grand Slam 2021 brings together more than 400 fighters from 60 countries.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) selected Tel Aviv to host one of its iconic Grand Slam tournaments in February 2021.
Israel has hosted the IJF s marquee Grand Prix tournament in Tel Aviv for the past two years. In 2018, Israel also hosted the European Judo Championships.
Founded in 1972, the Azerbaijan Judo Federation actively promotes this martial art across the country. Since 2015, the Federation has been headed by Rovnag Abdullayev.