[PUBLISH.TWITTER] Kimia Alizadeh, Iran's only female Olympic medalist, defected from the country. The taekwondo bronze medalist at the 2016 Olympics said she “didn't want to be part of hypocrisy, lies, injustice and flattery" https://t.co/973uCBl3GP pic.twitter.com/6Igxy7m60b
— Reuters (@Reuters) January 12, 2020
Alizadeh is the third top Iranian sports person to stop representing the country in recent months.
In December, Iran’s Chess Federation said top rated chess champion Alireza Firouzja had decided not to play for Iran over its informal ban on competing against Israeli players.
Three months earlier, the International Judo Federation said Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei had refused to return home over fears for his safety after he ignored orders from his national federation to pull out of fights to avoid a potential final meeting with an Israeli.