September 3, 2021
GOLD MEDAL In the paralympics, the Iranian sitting volleyball team won the gold medal for the seventh time in nine appearances. (The other two times it won silver.) The team won with help from Morteza Mehrzad, second from right, who is believed to be the world’s third tallest man at 246 centimeters or eight feet, one inch, and helps the team with his tremendous reach.
Iran won one of its gold medals at the Olympics this year only after the Iranian athlete was knocked out cold and had to be removed on a stretcher.
Iran’s Sajad Ganjzadeh faced off with Saudi Arabia’s Tareg Hamedi in the men’s 75-kilogram karate kumite final. Karate athletes competed in individual demonstrations called kata and one-on-one combat called kumite.
Leading the match 4-1, Hamedi landed a violent kick to Ganjzadeh’s head, leaving the Iranian unconscious on the mat. The fight was officially over after a 10-count. Hamedi celebrated, thinking he’d won gold.
He had not.
Ganjzadeh won via hansoku.
Judges conferred and disqualified Hamedi based on a serious violation of the rules called a hansoku. Competitors aren’t permitted to fully follow through on their blows in Olympic competition, unlike professional fighting, which rewards violent knockouts. So, Saudi Arabia’s Hamedi was disqualified.
Ganjzadeh, still suffering the effects of the knockout blow, was named the gold medal winner. Hamedi won silver after the disqualification loss. Hamedi left the mat in tears.
“If you ask me if I agree or not, I disagree, of course, because I love the gold medal,” Hamedi said through a translator. “But I am satisfied with the level of performance I gave, and I accept their decision. I don’t have any objection. I think I played well. That’s all I can say.”
The two fighters appeared at a post-fight news conference together. Ganjzadeh told reporters he learned about his gold medal after re-gaining consciousness in a medical room.
“The last thing I remember was that I was behind by scores, and then that incident happened and I don’t remember much after that,” Ganjzadeh said. “And what I remember was that in the medical room I woke up and I heard from the coach that I won the match. I’m very happy that I achieved this gold medal, but I’m sad that it had to happen like this.”