He was world champion in 2018. Now, after fleeing the 2019 World Championships in terror, Iran’s top judo fighter is in hiding. First, he deliberately lost.
3 September 2019By Paul Martin
Iran’s embattled judo fighter Saeid Mollaei, who has fled to Europe with help from the International Judo Federation (IJF), last night said: “I still want to fight for Iran, as long as they don’t persecute my family. And even if I fight under another flag or another team, any medals I win at the Olympics next year will be for my home country. Just not for the Iranian regime.”