The political conflict between Iran and Israel has affected the sports world, as two Iranian wrestlers, Mohsen Hajipour and Ghasem Rezaei, refused to wrestle with Israeli competitors at the World Wrestling Championships in İstanbul on Monday.

The refusal means that Rezaei counts as a no-show, and his Israeli competitor Robert Avanesyan won. Rezaei won a bronze medal in 2007, and he was considered a medal hopeful again this year. Israeli Avanesyan waited for his competitor on the wrestling mat for three minutes and was announced the winner of the match when Rezaei refused to compete.

The other Iranian wrestler, Hajipour, intentionally lost to his Moldavian competitor, Donir Islamov, so as not to wrestle an Israeli in the next round.

Cihan news agency