Statements at the Meeting with Medalists of the Asian and Para-Asian Games in Hangzhou

In the Name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

Thanks be to God, the Lord of the worlds, and peace and blessings be upon our master and prophet, Abu al-Qasim al-Mustafa Muhammad, and upon his pure, virtuous, and infallible family, especially the remainder of God on earth.

Welcome, dear brothers, dear sisters, dear children of the Iranian nation. Today was a very good and sweet session for us; both your meeting, your words, and the beautiful traditional sports that our youth and adolescents performed here. I will first address this traditional sport. One of the recommendations I made to the sports officials of the country a few years ago was to try to internationalize this sport; this sport is very beautiful. This arena of ours, this rhythm and beat, these very beautiful athletic movements, that swimming, that weightlifting, that wrestling, that spinning they do, those activities they perform — which today our dear adolescents showcased some very beautiful examples of — all of these are sights to behold for anyone interested in sports. Fortunately, I see that they have progressed. The sport that these children performed here today was honestly better than the traditional sports we saw in our youth; both their spinning was better, their weightlifting was better, their swimming was better, and their footwork was better; everything was honestly better. In our youth — as much as we could see — in all the different eras and arenas we had seen, we had not seen anything as beautiful as this. It is evident that progress has been made, it is evident that talent exists; this talent must be utilized to the fullest. And I thank these dear young people and adolescents; your work was very beautiful, very good. And I must truly thank their coaches; a lot of effort has been put in, and good work has been done. These dear brothers — we used to call them "Murshid" back then, I don’t know what they are called now; yes, I thank the brothers as well, they introduced us to the terminology of the traditional sports — they honestly performed very well, they worked very well. The traditional sports that took place here today were collectively very good.

And now my remarks to you, dear athletes; both the veterans and the young athletes. I want to mention two or three points. The first point, which may be the main point in my view, is gratitude and appreciation. I truly feel obliged to express my gratitude, firstly to all athletes and those striving in the field of sports; all those who strive in sports arenas, endure hardships. Participation in sports requires willpower, it requires strong determination; you have shown these, our athletes have thankfully shown them. I sincerely thank the medalists in this field, as this "medal" itself is a sign of effort, a sign of hard work. A medal is a sign, a symbol; it is a symbol of your hard work. I sincerely thank the medalists. I thank the female athletes; from the woman who carried the flag of this round of Asian sports with complete hijab and showcased the identity and personality of the Iranian woman to the world. I thank the female athlete who, during the medal ceremony, refused to shake hands with a non-mahram man; she extended her hand, but this lady did not shake hands. These are very important; the significance of these margins is no less than the sport itself, perhaps even more. I thank the lady who, with her newborn child in her arms, went up to the podium and received her medal; this is a symbolic act; this signifies respect for the role of women in family and motherhood. I thank the athletes who added value-laden margins to their sport; they prostrated on the ground after victory, raised their hands in prayer in the middle of the sports field, kissed the flag, prostrated on the flag. These are very important actions; these actions showcase the distinct Iranian-Islamic athlete, indeed the identity of the Iranian nation, in front of the eyes of hundreds of millions of sports spectators; these are not small actions. This prostration is very different from the prostration one does at home or in a mosque; this hijab is very different from the hijab someone wears on the streets of Tehran. I thank the national team that entered the field with a keffiyeh as a sign of defending the oppressed. I thank the athletes who each took a stance in support of Palestine; they declared their stance in front of the world — not in secrecy — they dedicated their medals to the children of Gaza, they dedicated their medals to the martyrs of the hospital — which was the site of the atrocities of the Zionist regime. I thank the athletes who refrained from facing their Zionist opponents; today it becomes clear what a right action they took; their legitimacy is clearer today than ever. This is our gratitude.

This gratitude is not merely verbal; it is not just for a good action — which, of course, anyone who does a good deed deserves gratitude — it is because these actions, some of which I mentioned, showcase the prominent, logical, and self-confident face of the Iranian nation in front of the eyes of hundreds of millions of sports spectators, introducing the Iranian nation. These actions, these beautiful movements, are part of Iran's national power. Everyone engages in sports; all nations have athletes, actors, wrestlers, footballers, volleyball players, and they also bring pride to their countries, but the actions you performed are distinctive in the world and transcend the issue of athleticism and sports honors; these are human honors. Therefore, our gratitude to you is for these great, beautiful, and meaningful actions you performed.

In addition to this, your efforts and successes bring joy to the hearts of the nation. When you earn a medal — colorful medals — the nation here becomes joyful and feels proud. It is very important for me that you bring joy to the hearts of the nation, give them a sense of pride; for this reason, I also express my gratitude. Therefore, our first point with you, dear athletes, was gratitude, with the details I mentioned.

The second point is a word with the officials. Of course, we have many things to say to the international sports officials, we have many criticisms; one day these criticisms must be addressed fairly. Today, the colonial and exploitative powers, the arrogant powers, are almost behind all international centers and prevent fair examination, but one day, God willing, the time will come for fair examination of these matters. They say, "Sports is not political," but when they need to politicize sports, they do so in the worst way. Under some pretext, they deprive a country of participating in all international sports arenas; why? [Because] you fought somewhere; but they ignore the five thousand children martyred in Gaza! Here, sports should not be politicized, but there it is clearly politicized, and that is acceptable! They deprive a country of global competitions under the pretext of war, they completely ignore a country, a government; not because of war, but because of war crimes and even genocide, they do not prevent it from entering international arenas. Such things exist; these are unfortunately the international problems of the world of sports; and the audience of these remarks are the world sports officials; now let the bribes remain, let the corruption remain, let the injustices remain, let the sports mafias remain; one day, God willing, these matters must be addressed. This pertains to the world officials.

But we have many things to say to our own officials. I have said many of these things in the presence of the athletes to the esteemed sports officials of the country, and I have also pointed out some in private meetings to them and their higher officials; this must be pursued. Those who the esteemed minister mentioned here must be followed up one by one; the same matters that our dear wrestler mentioned here must be pursued. I say a strong Iran must have strong sports. We have given the slogan "Strong Iran"; strong sports in Iran must be strong sports. What is the strength of sports? It is the adoption of correct measures in selecting coaches, in forming national teams in all disciplines, in serious monitoring to prevent the emergence of pests in sports; they must ensure that pests do not arise in the country's sports. What does "pest" mean? It means economic corruption, it means the formation of sports mafias within, it means moral pests for our clean and virtuous athletes; these must be monitored.

One of the responsibilities of the esteemed sports officials is to plan for solving the longstanding problems of sports. What does "longstanding problems" mean? [It means] unanswered questions: How much is the role of the government in sports? How much should the government intervene in sports or in sports teams? The issue of privatization, the issue of sports contracts, the issue of foreign coaches, and similar matters; these are questions that arise, and every once in a while, an answer is given, but after a while, this answer changes. These must be planned; a planning based on the principles of professional sports. This is one of the real needs of the country's sports; this is an important responsibility of the sports officials.

One responsibility of the esteemed sports officials is to address the living conditions of athletes, which was also mentioned here. The works that the esteemed minister mentioned are supposed to be done in the fields of housing and employment and similar matters; these are very good works, provided they are pursued, provided they are followed up seriously. We cannot expect athletes to bring pride in global arenas, but not treat their needs appropriately. They must ensure that our athletes can have a reasonable assurance for their lives. In my opinion, the best way is the issue of employment, the issue of housing, and similar matters that were mentioned.

One of the responsibilities of the officials is to behave paternalistically with athletes. I urge the country’s officials to have sincere interactions with athletes of all disciplines. Of course, some sports disciplines are more prominent, while some are very little highlighted; they should interact with all athletes in all disciplines, sit down, listen to their words, hear their grievances, listen to their requests, and be responsive. These are our requests from the officials and our address to the sports officials.

A few words to you, dear athletes. The athletic face becomes a role model for many young people. Your behavior, your movements, your words, your way of life as young and adolescent athletes often become a model for many young people; well, this makes your responsibility heavier. When you are a role model, you can guide a part of the youth of the country to the right path, make them happy, make them prosperous; God forbid, the opposite is also possible. Therefore, your behavior is very important. A word from an athlete, a behavior from an athlete — whether in the sports field or outside of it — can have a constructive impact on the youth; this makes your responsibility heavier. God Almighty has obligations for you according to your popularity. The more your popularity, your abilities, your prominence increase, the more obligations come upon you from the Almighty; pay attention to this; both ladies and gentlemen, youth and adolescents. Fame and being noticed put a person at risk of some slips that must be fully considered.

Another point for you, dear athletes, is that you must thank God very much. This physical ability has been given to you by God; this determination and willpower that you exert in the field of sports competition — without which victory is impossible and only physical strength is not enough — both the physical strength and this determination and willpower have been given to you by God; well, you must express gratitude to God; these are divine blessings. Every blessing requires gratitude, and if you express gratitude, this blessing will increase, God willing.

Well, these are our remarks to you. I also often pray for all the youth, all the athletes; especially for you, I will pray specifically, and I always pray.

One sentence about the issue of Palestine. If I were to summarize the recent events for you athletes, that summary and that short sentence is that the Zionist regime was knocked out in the incident of "Al-Aqsa Flood"; that is, Hamas, as a resistance group — not as a government, not as a country with vast resources; as a group, a resistance group — was able to knock out the usurping Zionist government with all its resources; this is the summary of the matter. Until today, they have not been able to free themselves from the burden and shame that this defeat has brought upon them. Yes, they show power, but where? In the hospitals of sick people in Gaza, in the schools of Gaza, over the heads of the defenseless people of Gaza! This show of power has no value; it is like an athlete losing in the field, and then, to retaliate for that defeat, attacking the supporters of the opposing team, cursing them, and beating them! There is honestly no more disgraceful act than what the Zionist regime has done. The heavy defeat of the Zionist regime will not be compensated for by these bombings, and such bombings will shorten the lifespan of this usurping regime. This oppression and ruthlessness will not go unanswered; let them know this. Today, the whole world has understood why the Iranian athlete refuses to face the Zionist in the field; the world has understood this today; because he is a criminal, because he is competing for a criminal government and entering the field; helping him is helping a terrorist and criminal regime.

In any case, I thank all of you, I thank each and every athlete. I thank these dear young men and adolescents who performed sports here and were able to perform so beautifully and splendidly in this artificial arena. I thank these young people who performed here. I thank all of you. God willing, may you be successful and supported.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings.