Saeid Mollaei

Saeid Mollaei (Persian: سعید ملایی; Mongolian: Саид Моллай; Azerbaijani: Səid Mollayi) was born on January 5, 1992, in Tehran to ethnic Azerbaijani parents originally from Khoy.[6] In 2001, at the age of 10, he entered the Persian Gulf Judo School by Dr. Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a judo instructor. Iranian authorities ordered Mollaei to intentionally lose in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki. In August 2019, he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships. In December 2019, he became a citizen of Mongolia. He dedicated his 2020 Olympic medal to Mongolia and Mongol People [7] and to Israel.[8] From May 2022 on, Mollaei represents Azerbaijan.[9][10]

Saeid Mollaei
Mollaei at the 2018 Asian Games
Personal information
Born (1992-01-05) 5 January 1992
Tehran, Iran
OccupationJudoka
Height176 cm (5 ft 9 in)[1][2]
Sport
Country
SportJudo
Weight class–81 kg
Rank     5th dan black belt[4]
Coached byDr. Mehrdad Hasanzadeh[5]
Mohammad Mansouri[1]
Achievements and titles
World Champ.Gold (2018)
Asian Champ.Silver (2017, 2018)
Olympic GamesSilver (2020)
Medal record
Men's judo
Representing  Azerbaijan
World Masters
Silver medal – second place 2022 Jerusalem ‍–‍81 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2022 Baku ‍–‍81 kg
Silver medal – second place 2022 Budapest ‍–‍81 kg
Silver medal – second place 2023 Antalya ‍–‍81 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Silver medal – second place 2022 Zagreb ‍–‍81 kg
Representing  Mongolia
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2020 Tokyo ‍–‍81 kg
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2021 Bishkek ‍–‍81 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Silver medal – second place 2021 Tel Aviv ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2020 Budapest ‍–‍81 kg
Representing  Iran
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2018 Baku ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Budapest ‍–‍81 kg
Asian Games
Silver medal – second place 2018 Jakarta ‍–‍81 kg
Asian Championships
Silver medal – second place 2017 Hong Kong ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Kuwait City ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Tashkent ‍–‍81 kg
IJF Grand Slam
Gold medal – first place 2018 Düsseldorf ‍–‍81 kg
Silver medal – second place 2017 Baku ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Abu Dhabi ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2018 Ekaterinburg ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Paris ‍–‍81 kg
IJF Grand Prix
Gold medal – first place 2019 Hohhot ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Samsun ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Ulaanbaatar ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 Tbilisi ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2017 The Hague ‍–‍81 kg
Bronze medal – third place 2019 Zagreb ‍–‍81 kg
Asian Junior Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Beirut ‍–‍73 kg
Islamic Solidarity Games
Gold medal – first place 2017 Baku ‍–‍81 kg
Profile at external databases
IJF3345, 68901
JudoInside.com81144
Updated on 23 May 2023.

Judo career

He won bronze medals at the 2015 and 2016 Asian Championships, and a silver medal at the 2017 edition. He was a bronze medalist at the Budapest 2017 World Championships, and a 2018 Baku World Championships gold medalist.[11]

He competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the 81 kg event, and was eliminated in the first bout by Khasan Khalmurzaev.[2]

Iranian authorities, the Iranian Sports Minister and the presidents of the Iran Judo Federation and the Iran Olympic Committee, ordered Mollaei to intentionally lose in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki.[12][13]

In reaction, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships to avoid a potential bout against Muki, in August 2019 he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany.[14][15][16][17]

Iran's actions led the International Judo Federation (IJF) to indefinitely ban Iran from competition.[12] The IJF disciplinary commission examining the case found that Iran's actions "constitute a serious breach and gross violation of the Statutes of the IJF, its legitimate interests, its principles and objectives."[12] The ban will last until "the Iran Judo Federation give strong guarantees and prove that they will respect the IJF Statutes and accept that their athletes fight against Israeli athletes."[12]

On 1 November 2019 Germany agreed to grant Mollaei asylum.[18] That month, he competed as part of the IJF refugee team at the Osaka Grand Slam.[19] Muki congratulated Mollaei on Instagram for returning to judo and participating in Osaka in his first competition since the World Championships in Tokyo, and Mollaei, in turn, thanked Muki for his support and wrote: "Good luck to you all the time, my best friend."[19] Mollaei also posted a photo of them standing together, and wrote: "This is true friendship and a win for sports and judo over politics."[19]

On 16 November 2019, he received the Crans Montana Forum gold medal from Ambassador Jean-Paul Carteron for the difficult decision he took in Japan.[20] The mission of the Crans Montana Forum is "Towards a more Humane World".[20] In accepting the award, Mollaei said: "We must try to make a better world. A peaceful world, more equal, more friendly, and more fair."[20]

On 1 December 2019, Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga (himself the chairman of Mongolian Judo Federation) offered him citizenship, which he accepted.[19][21]

Mollaei arrived in Israel in February 2021 to compete at the Tel Aviv Grand Prix.[22][23] He represented Mongolia at Grand Slam Hungary 2020 and won bronze medal in –81 kg category.

Mollaei trained in Israel with the Israeli national judo team in the months prior to the 2020 Summer Olympics.[24] He went on to win the silver medal in the men's –81 kg event.[25]

See also

References
  1. Saeid Mollaei. asiangames2018.id
  2. "Saeid Mollaei". Rio 2016. Archived from the original on 17 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  3. Cowen, Thea (14 May 2022). "Azerbaijan welcome 2018 Baku World Champion to the team". European Judo Union. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
  4. "IJF Dan Grades Awardees" (PDF). International Judo Federation. p. 7. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 February 2023. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. Saeid Mollaei. london2012.com
  6. AZE (1 October 2018). "Чемпион мира по дзюдо: я – азербайджанец из Ирана. ВИДЕО". AZE.az. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  7. "Freedom-flavoured silver medal for Iranian-born judoka competing for Mongolia". 28 July 2021.
  8. Justin Vallejo (30 July 2021). "Iranian defector wins judo silver for Mongolia and dedicates Olympic medal to Israel". The Independent. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  9. "JudoInside - Saeid Mollaei Judoka". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  10. "Saeid Mollaei will fight for Azerbaijan". www.judoinside.com. Retrieved 9 May 2022.
  11. Saeid Mollaei. judoinside.com
  12. PTI (22 October 2019). "Judo Federation bans Iran for refusal to compete with Israel". Sportstar. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  13. "Iran banned indefinitely from International Judo Federation for boycotting Israelis". Haaretz. 23 October 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  14. "داستان ناکامی سعید ملایی و اولین طلای جودوی مردان جهان برای اسرائیل" (in Persian).
  15. "Judo star left fearing for safety after defying orders from Iran". The Guardian. 2 September 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2020.
  16. "The true story of a fight for life". International Judo Federation.
  17. "News - Germany grants refugee status Saeid Mollaei". JudoInside. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  18. "فدراسیون بین‌المللی جودو: آلمان با پناهندگی سعید ملایی موافقت کرد". BBC Persian (in Persian). 2 November 2019. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  19. Einhorn, Alon (4 December 2019). "Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei will compete in Israel next month – report". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
  20. "News - Saeid Mollaei awarded for courage". JudoInside. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  21. "News - Saeid Mollaei gets Mongolian passport". JudoInside. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
  22. "Iranian judoka and dissident Saeid Mollaei due in Israel for Tel Aviv Grand Slam". 14 February 2021.
  23. "Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei competes in Israel". BBC News. 18 February 2021.
  24. אהרוני, אורן (17 February 2021). "יחזור לארץ: סעיד מולאי יתכונן לאולימפיאדה בישראל". Ynet (in Hebrew). Retrieved 17 February 2021.
  25. "2020 Summer Olympics — Judo - Men 81 kg Schedule". Olympics.com. 27 July 2021. Archived from the original on 5 October 2021. Retrieved 3 August 2021.

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