Iranian taekwondoka barely misses refugee team’s 1st medal

TOKYO — Iranian defector Kimia Alizadeh barely missed out on the Refugee Olympic Team’s first-ever medal, losing to Turkey’s Hatice Kübra İlgün in their bronze medal taekwondo bout at the Tokyo Games. After beating Iran’s Nahid Kiyani Chandeh in her opening bout Sunday in Tokyo, the 23-year-old Alizadeh shocked two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Jones in the round of 16, beating the British champion 16-12. She castigated Iran for using her for propaganda purposes in a passionate letter announcing her defection on social media, calling the decision “harder than earning Olympic gold.” Alizadeh hadn’t competed between 2018 and this year due to injuries before her departure from Iran but the pandemic-caused postponement of the Tokyo Games helped Alizadeh to reach the Olympics again: She was granted refugee status in Germany last February, allowing her to compete in the European qualifiers. The IJF said Iran’s policies were revealed when former Iranian judo competitor Saeid Mollaei claimed he was ordered to lose in the semifinals of the 2019 world championships in Tokyo to avoid potentially facing Israeli world champion Sagi Muki in the finals.