29-member refugee team at the Olympics with 5 Iranian athletes
The refugee team will compete in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics with 29 athletes in 12 sports. The refugee sports convoy also includes 5 Iranian athletes.
After forming and sending a 10-member refugee team to the 2016 Rio Olympics and receiving positive global feedback, the International Olympic Committee pursued and finalized the presence of the refugee team in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics more broadly.
The refugee sports convoy will attract the attention of the world's sports and political circles this time at the 2021 Tokyo Summer Olympics, with 29 athletes in 12 sports.
The 29 athletes who have qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics under the International Olympic Committee flag have been covered by 13 National Olympic Committees over the past years and were introduced to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to qualify for the Olympics.
The refugee team, which will compete as the second team after the Greek sports convoy at the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics, also includes five Iranian refugee athletes.
Kimia Alizadeh, a bronze medalist in taekwondo with the Iranian team at the 2016 Olympics (refugee in Germany), Dina Pourions Langerudi in taekwondo (refugee in the Netherlands), Saeed Fazal-Oli in rowing (refugee in Germany), Hamon Derfshipour in karate (refugee in Canada), and Javad Mahjoub in judo (refugee in Canada) are athletes of Iranian descent on this team.
It is worth noting that there is a possibility that four Iranian refugee athletes will face current Iranian national athletes at the Tokyo Olympics. Given the suspension of Iranian judo by the World Judo Federation, Javad Mahjoub will not have an Iranian opponent at the Olympic Games.
It is worth noting that the IOC had determined the composition of the main options for the refugee team in the first phase of the Tokyo Olympic Refugee Team Program by calling 56 athletes. The International Olympic Committee also allocated a budget of 2 million euros from the Olympic Solidarity Fund to provide scholarships to these 56 athletes to finance this program.
The IOC then announced the final list of refugee team members, based on its own criteria and considering sporting performance, personal background, and geographical aspects.
Source: DW
