At freestyle wrestling’s U-23 World Championships in Poland, an Iranian wrestler intentionally lost a match to avoid facing an Israeli in the next round. The incident, which is not an isolated occurrence, is yet another reminder that politics and diplomacy are never too far away from sports fields and arenas.
The incident happened last Sunday while Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi (aka Alireza Karimimachiani) was competing against Russian Alikhan Zhabrailov. Karimi was leading the contest 3-2 with just a minute left.
During this last minute, according to TrackWrestling, Karimi’s coach began yelling at his wrestler to lose.