Statements of the Supreme Leader at the Opening Ceremony of the Cultural and Sports Maneuver of the Nation's Disabled Veterans

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

Today, we witnessed the display of spiritual power, which, thanks be to God, is a valuable reserve among you dear ones and self-sacrificing individuals, and we are grateful to God that in the Islamic system, we witness the greatness and splendor of spirituality and the power of will among the dearest children of this country.

First, I must thank all those involved in this very magnificent, meaningful, and substantial ceremony, and express my gratitude to each of the dear veterans who participated in this ceremony, especially those who, by demonstrating their willpower, manifested the importance and value of spiritual strength.

Dear veterans! In every field where you were present as a valuable group, you demonstrated that you possess initiative, willpower, and more than usual capacity for construction and excellence. In the field of sacred defense, your group and the youth of this country—our self-sacrificing individuals, each of whom is, in truth, a living martyr—were able to demonstrate an achievement that is unparalleled in our country's history and, indeed, rare or unparalleled in the world!

It was your will and spiritual and moral strength that enabled you to triumph over the world of global arrogance and disbelief against the Islamic system, despite the fact that your opponents had more material resources. This lesson is not one that can be easily forgotten by a nation. It is not something that can be considered separate from the past and future. It is a living process and truth. This is a lesson for all fields.

Our veterans have demonstrated the same strength and spiritual power in the fields of education and construction. Wherever there was a place for the manifestation of true human power, when you entered, you were able to accomplish great and seemingly unattainable feats. This means that when there is spiritual power, even physical weakness cannot be decisive.

With physical weakness and bodily deficiencies, due to willpower, faith, and spirituality, you were able to accomplish great tasks. This is also true in sports! In the field of sports, the most glorious presence of Iranians in one of the international arenas was achieved by the veterans; that is, in one presence, these veterans gifted eighty-nine gold medals to the country of Iran! What does this phenomenon mean? It means that in the field of sports, just like in the field of war, science, construction, and management, what is decisive is the power of will, faith, high aspiration, and, in summary, spiritual power that also draws physical strength along with it; it compensates for physical weakness. These are lessons for our country.

I am pleased to see that various sports disciplines have expanded among veterans and the disabled. Almost all sports disciplines that can be pursued with a disabled body have been brought under your control in the best form! This is a lesson for our nation, for our youth, and for our decision-makers and managers in various sectors.

Emphasize and consider important the spiritual power and will derived from faith and humanity. There are many healthy individuals who, due to a lack of willpower, cannot have an honorable presence in any of these fields; but individuals with apparent physical weakness—bodily deficiencies, lack of hands, lack of feet, spinal cord injuries, lack of eyes, multiple shrapnel in the body, and various physical challenges that unfortunately veterans face and struggle with—can, with strong will and determination, achieve these advancements and brilliant accomplishments! This is a lesson for all fields.

My dear ones; those who strive in this field! Continue this lesson for your nation and history; that is, increase your efforts and endeavors and continue to undertake new tasks, fresh initiatives, conquer new fields, and open unexplored paths.

Dear officials of various sectors should also learn from this phenomenon and give importance to the spiritual power of the youth. Know that if a nation possesses faith and is raised with willpower and taught decision-making power, it will be victorious in all fields—in politics, cultural struggles, and military struggles. Such a nation will triumph over all enemies.

I would like to say a word about the country's sports, which is an important national issue: Firstly, all people should take sports seriously. Everyone should consider sports a necessity and an essential task for their health. A sports-oriented society will be lively, active, vibrant, and efficient. Pass on the habit of sports to your children. Encourage children and teenagers—especially the youth—to engage in sports. Even the elderly and seniors should exercise—everyone should engage in sports suitable to their condition—sports is a necessary task and duty essential for the continuous vitality and freshness of society. Today, our society needs this vitality and freshness.

The second point is that if you want sports to become widespread and universal, you must also strengthen championship sports. People should find role models from among themselves. You must strengthen suitable sports disciplines. When I look and see that in some sports disciplines on the global stage, our youth are making the most prominent statements and showing the brightest faces—like in wrestling—I am not surprised. This is the Iranian nation; it is no joke! This nation is talented. When I see that in some sports fields and in some sports disciplines, our athletes do not present anything noteworthy, I am saddened and feel that the work here has not been done to the extent needed and worthy of the Iranian nation.

I have recommended to sports officials, and I recommend again, to select several suitable sports disciplines that have meaning and substance according to our logic and culture, and invest in them. I do not mean only material investment; I mean spiritual investment; that is, exert effort and management, make the necessary efforts and good selections, so that our youth can find a field and excel in these sports disciplines in the world. Some of these sports are originally Iranian, which have been left to us as a legacy from our history—like horseback riding, polo, or some branches of traditional sports—some are sports we have learned from others, but we favor them—like team sports or martial arts—select these; plan and strive on them.

In my opinion, the Iranian youth lacks nothing to be first in the world. The Iranian youth is talented. The Iranian athlete has a brilliant talent. He must be given the opportunity, the field, and his work must be organized so that he can shine like a star in the world's sports arenas. Today, the world is like this; sports reveal and speak about the existence of nations—even about the capabilities of governments—today, sports in the world is like this. Our youth and athletes are ready. Work on those disciplines that are carefully selected, plan and work on them. Our youth, in those places where they have presented something noteworthy in the world, have, thanks be to God, been able to bring pride to the Islamic Republic system. I must thank all the heroic youth who, in the world's sports arenas, caused the name of dear Islamic Iran to resonate in the global loudspeakers—contrary to the will of the arrogant powers and despite them—and shake the atmosphere, and the sacred flag and anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran to delight eyes and ears. I am grateful to all these youth and their coaches. God willing, you will be successful. We can do this in all fields.

I say to all of you dear ones and to all the sports officials of the country: You must attend to sports as a serious, fundamental, and necessary task—whose benefits do not end with individuals, but return to the country, the revolution, and the government—in a suitable and worthy manner; and if you want this task to progress as it should, you must make the sports environment a spiritual environment. The spiritual environment is the same heroic environment of our old athletes; those who, when they entered the sports arena, kissed the ground; those who always started sports in the name of God and ended it in the name of God—started with Bismillah and ended with prayer—our country is such a country. Its sports environment is a spiritual environment, one of chivalry, faith, piety, chastity, and purity, and an environment of spiritual and moral brilliance.

You must place and maintain sports in such an atmosphere. This will be both a source of progress for the country's sports and will be able to reflect its luminousness to all sectors of the country; just as, thanks be to God, we observed this characteristic in the sports of veterans and the disabled.

I must thank each of you dear athletes, the officials who organized this very beautiful, interesting, and substantial maneuver—from the country's sports officials. I hope that all of you will be successful and that God Almighty will increase His blessings and grace upon you day by day.

Peace be upon you and God's mercy and blessings