The International Olympic Committee last month threatened to boot out of the Olympics any national team in which a member refused to face another athlete for political or religious reasons.
According to reports in Tehran sports papers, Iran qualified to 
If Mahjub claimed a medical problem during the games in London, he would be subject to a check by Olympic medical officials. But since he bowed out before going to London, he is not subject to any medical check.
The head of Iran’s team in London, Bahram Afsharzadeh, announced last Monday in English in London that Iranian athletes would face any and all athletes from other countries. But back in Tehran, Iranian officials said in Farsi that that was not true. The Islamic Republic thus took one position internationally and the opposite domestically, something that it does periodically.
Last year, Mahjub, the judoka with the intestinal ailment, told the daily Sharq he had intentionally thrown a match with a German opponent because he knew that if he won he would have to face an Israeli. “And if I refused to compete with the Israeli, they would have suspended our judo federation for four years,” he said.
The state policy baring competition against Israelis is very unpopular in the Iranian sports world, but it appears that the state is now prepared to go to great lengths to preserve it. The question is what will happen when Iranians draw Israeli opponents in the future in wrestling, Iran’s national sport. Fortunately, for the Islamic Republic, Israel did not qualify a single wrestler for this year’s Olympics.
The Games opened Friday. Sports Minister Mohammad Abbasi attended the opening ceremonies in London. But President Ahmadi-nejad didn’t show up. He had said weeks ago that he wanted to attend. It wasn’t announced why he did not go in the end.
Outside of wrestling, weightlifting and taekwondo, Iranian athletes have not been expected to do very well. Four years ago, most of the other Iranian entries finished far to the back of the pack.
But there was a surprise on the very first full day of the competition Saturday—not a medal, but a big surprise nonetheless. Elaheh Ahmadi, who was shooting in the women’s 10-meter air rifle competition in a field of 58 competitors, finished a solid sixth. She was sandwiched between American Jamie Gray in fifth place and American Sarah Scherer in seventh place.
Ahmadi said, “Many in Iran have been saying the women have no chance to be successful in shooting, and I am so glad that I proved myself in the event.”
Ahmadi was the fifth woman shooter sent to the Olympics by Iran over the last five Olympics. None of the previous four did anywhere near as well as Ahmadi, who has won silver and bronze medals in Asian competitions over the last three years.
Countrywoman Mahlagha Jambozorg was far down the list in 43rd place. But at least she finished far from the bottom
The men’s 156-mile cycling road race, on the other hand, was a total disaster for Iran—the stuff of which nightmares are made. Iran sent three cyclists to London, joining a crowded field of 144. But Mehdi Sohrabi couldn’t finish the race within the six-hour limit while Ali-Reza Naghi and Amir Zargari bowed out in mid-race and never finished at all.
The others competing in the first four days of the Olympics did better than the cyclists if not as good as the shooter, Ahmadi.
In archery, Iran sent one male and one female. Male Milad Vaziri finished 39th of 64 and female Zahra Dehqan 55th of 64 in the first day’s ranking competition. As a result of that, the best archers then get to face the lowest ranked archers in the next round. Vaziri competed after the Iran Times went to press. Dehqan was defeated 6-2 by Mexican Mariana Avitia and eliminated.
In the men’s 10-meter air pistol, Ebrahim Barkhordari finished 33rd of 44 and was eliminated before the next round.
In rowing, one male and one female qualified for the 2,000-meter single scull races. In the first round, Mohsen Shadi-Naghadeh finished 31st of 33 in the men’s competition and Soulmaz Abbasi-azad finished 27th of 28 in the female competition. In the second round, each had the slowest time. In rowing, everyone continues to the end so there is a complete ranking. But both Iranians have now been eliminated from the top 12.
In table tennis, Iran also entered one man and one woman. The woman, Neda Shahsavari, played the very first match of the table tennis competition and fell to Nigeria’s Funke Oshonaike, but only after a very impressive fight, 11-13, 11-8, 11-8, 9-11, 11-4, 5-11, 11-3. That eliminated her.
In men’s table tennis, Noshad Alamiyan is one of 128 players. He got off to an impressive start, defeating an Australian in straight sets, 11-5, 11-7, 11-7, 13-11 and then surviving in the second round after a tough battle with a Hong Konger, winning 11-6, 11-5, 7-11, 11-9, 8-11, 5-11, 12-10. But he met his match in the third round and lost in straight sets, 11-8, 11-5, 12-10, and 12-10. He lost to German Timo Boll who was formerly rated Number One in the world. Alamiyan was rated Number 77 coming into the Olympics.
The boxing competition began Sunday with Iran’s Amin Ghasemi-pur in the welterweight (69 kilos) division being eliminated in the Round of 32 after falling 13-8 to Gabriel Maestre Perez of Venezuela. The Iranian may have been distracted by a Venezuelan woman whose shouts of support for her man pierced the arena. When the Venezuelan won, many fans tuned toward the loud woman and applauded her rather than the boxer!
The next day, however, light heavyweight (81 kilos) Ehsan Ruzbahani won 12-10 over Colombian Jeysson Monroy Varela and advanced to the Round of 16.
In the light welterweight division (64 kilos), Mehdi Toloutibandpi faced Jonathan Alonso Flete of Spain in the round of 32 and defeated him on points 16-12.
In boxing, five judges award points for successful punches. The matches are three rounds of three minutes each.
In fencing, Mojtaba Abedini was entered in the men’s individual saber. In the initial round of 64, he lost to Florin Zalomir of Romania, who was eliminated himself in the next round.
In swimming, Mohammad Bidaryan came in 42nd of 56 competitors and was eliminated from further competition.
State television has said that beginning in the second week of the Games, it will interrupt the programming on the third channel whenever an Iranian is competing and show that competition live.