Saeid Mollaei of Team Mongolia reacts after he defeated Shamil Borchashvili of Team Austria during the Men’s Judo 81kg Semifinal of Table B on day four of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Nippon Budokan on July 27, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) Judoka Saeid Mollaei, a defector from Iran, dedicated his silver medal to Israel on July 27.
Mollaei defected from Iran in 2019, saying that his coaches had told him to lose to Israeli judoka Sagi Muki in the World Judo Championship. Mollaei obtained asylum in Germany before fleeing to Mongolia and has since received Mongolian citizenship, according to Fox News. He was representing Mongolia in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics when he won the silver medal, his first Olympic medal.
“Thank you to Israel for the good energy,” Mollaei told an Israeli sports channel. “This medal is also dedicated to Israel. I hope the Israelis are happy with this win.” He concluded his speech by saying “todah,” Hebrew for “thank you.” The winner of the gold medal was Takanori Nagase from Japan.
WATCH: Former Iranian Judoka Saeid Mollaei, who defected from Iran after being told to forfeit his match against Israeli contender Sagi Muki in 2019, dedicated his silver medal win at the #TokyoOlympics to #Israel, thanking the country for its support.
Well done champion!👏🥈❤️ pic.twitter.com/xxvu194b30
— StandWithUs (@StandWithUs) July 28, 2021
Jewish groups praised Mollaei. The American Jewish Committee tweeted that Mollaei’s story is “inspiring” and praised him with a “bravo.”
Inspiring story:
Saeid Mollaei is an Iranian-born judoka.
In 2019, Iran pressured him to forfeit a match against his Israeli opponent. He refused and fled to Mongolia.
Yesterday, he won a silver medal at the #Olympics and dedicated it to Israel. Bravo!https://t.co/j2CUeS7Ezm
— American Jewish Committee (@AJCGlobal) July 28, 2021
“Thank you for this honor, Saeid Mollaei!” StandWithUs CEO and co-founder Roz Rothstein tweeted. “It means so much to all of us.”
Thank you for this honor, Saeid Mollaei ! It means so much to all of us @StandWithUs https://t.co/BZV06fB4cI
— Roz Rothstein (@RozRothstein) July 28, 2021
Social media influencer Hananya Naftali called Mollaei a “hero” in a tweet.
Iranian born judoka Saeid Mollaei has won a silver medal in the Tokyo 2020 judo tournament as a representative for the Mongolian team. Congratulations!
He refused to boycott Israel at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, and as a result could not return to Iran. He is a hero! pic.twitter.com/4uG1SZ2sqH
— Hananya Naftali (@HananyaNaftali) July 27, 2021
Muki, who has remained close friends with Mollaei, said at a press conference: “I’m so happy that he succeeded in achieving his dream. He deserves it. His journey is incredibly inspiring.” Muki had lost in the quarterfinals, according to The Jerusalem Post. Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett told Muki in a phone call, “What you are teaching us all is that whoever wants victories must also know how to get up from failures along the way. I want to tell you how much I appreciate you and the spirit you bring, to the public in general and to the youth in Israel in particular,” the Post reported.
On July 26, Algerian judoka athlete Fethi Nourine was suspended along with his coach for refusing to fight Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul. Sudanese judoka Mohamed Abdalrasool didn’t show up for his match against Butbul; Butbul told the Associated Press that he was told that Abdalrasool had an injured shoulder, but the Israeli team was skeptical. Butbul ultimately finished in seventh place.
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