Iranian judo officials on Saturday announced a landmark decision to end a decades-long practice of boycotting of matches against Israeli athletes.
In a letter to the International Judo Federation, Iran's Olympic Committee and local Judo Federation agreed to "fully respect the Olympic Charter and its non-discrimination principle."
The International Judo Federation said in a statement that the Iranian commitment came after several rounds of talks regarding a "disturbing phenomenon" in which Iranian athletes suddenly claim "injuries" or intentionally fail their weigh-ins to avoid meeting athletes from certain countries.
Neither Iran's letter of commitment nor the International Judo Federation's statement explicitly mentioned Israel but Iranian athletes have on numerous occasions forfeited matches in which they were due to face Israelis.
Perhaps the most famous incident was the decision by two-time judo world champion Arash Miresmaili, who deliberately showed up overweight for his bout against an Israeli at the 2004 Athens Olympics and was disqualified.
The sporting policy is an extension of Iran's refusal to recognize Israel. The athletes' boycott against Israeli opponents have been praised by government officials but an increasing number of coaches and competitors have spoken out against the controversial policy.
According to Army Radio, the IJF threatened to ban Iran from international competitions, including the Olympics, if it did not agree to fight Israelis.
Last year, the IJF stripped the rights of Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates to host major international competitions over their refusal to allow Israelis to compete.
The UAE eventually relented and Israel's national anthem was played in the country for the first time after an Israeli judoka took home a gold medal.
Moshe Ponte, head of the Israeli Judo Association, told The Associated Press he welcomed "this courageous and correct decision" by the International Judo Federation to publish the letter.
This article was originally published by i24NEWS. Read more at https://www.i24news.tv/en.
