International judo officials cancelled a meeting yesterday to investigate whether
a two-time champion from Iran who reportedly said he wouldn't
fight an Israeli opponent deliberately avoided the first-round bout by
showing up overweight.
International Judo Federation spokesman Michel Brousse said that some officials
were unable to attend the meeting on Arash Miresmaeli and
could not say when the federation would next meet.
The federation met Sunday to consider the circumstances around the
disqualification surrounding Miresmaeili's weight but wanted more evidence to study.
Miresmaeli , a favourite in the under-66-kilogram class, was declared
overweight at the morning weigh-in and disqualified for his first-round
bout against Ehud Vaks.
An Iranian government spokesman, meanwhile, said it was Tehran's "definite
policy . . . not to meet any Israeli in
any international arena.''
"We can't accept the presence of anyone under the flag
of this regime in any international event,'' Abdollah Ramezanzadeh told
reporters yesterday in Tehran.
Ramezanzadeh said the decision was not against the spirit of
Olympics seeking to promote friendship among world nations. Source.
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