According to Mehr news agency, Major General Hossein Salami, commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, said at the ceremony of honoring the wrestling medalists: I thank God that today I am present in the company of the Minister of Sports, wrestling champions and veterans of wrestling and other disciplines. It is one of the most pleasant meetings that I had the opportunity to attend and I appreciate the invitation of the secretary.
He continued: The country’s sports community is an important part of our country’s personality. Countries are known by their stars. These constructive people are an important part of the greatness and glory and character of a country. One of the dreams of teenagers and young people of all countries is to be close to the honors of their country’s youth in the field of sports. There is a sense of unattainability about them. Sports heroes can shine in the international fields and make the name of a country famous in the world by trying and enduring hardships.
Major General Salami said: When the World Cup 1998 I was in Lebanon. It is customary there that every family hangs the flag of the country they want to win on the door of their house. There were two flags hanging there; One is Brazil and the other is Iran. Sports push boundaries to such an extent. Sports personalities are global in scope and the whole world is proud of them.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Army Corps reminded: Wrestling is an exceptional sport in which all parts of the body must be strong and all muscles must perform non-coordinated movements at the same time in order for an athlete to succeed. I remember the pride of the wrestling veterans. In the old days, we didn’t have television, but inside the village, when we were harvesting wheat, we heard the competitions on the radio with the report of the late Bahmanesh, and when they won, we felt happy. Even now, when I see wrestling, I push the chair and stand up during weightlifting competitions and say this is Iran.
Salami said: Some names are never forgotten and even when they die, their morals remain eternal, like the characters of Puria Vali and Gholamreza Takhti, who were praiseworthy, or the martyrs of the wrestling community, who have been dedicated to this country. Let’s also remember the martyrs of Basij, how they saved this country
The Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC said: The personality of a wrestler has two strong dimensions; One is strength and the other is physical resistance. Since we do military work, we understand the difference between strength and resistance better. The wrestler has high physical flexibility and strength to resist the opponent’s pressure. When wrestling goes to the bridge, it must be very strong and resistant so as not to break under pressure. It takes years for a wrestler to perform well for two to three minutes on the mat and not be affected by pressure.
The Commander-in-Chief of the IRGC emphasized: There is a concept called intelligence and muscle memory. Our athletes wrestle with enthusiasm and all this is achieved based on practice. Without self-confidence, a wrestler cannot show his abilities. Mental focus is very important. I will say a simple formula from the Qur’an; Only with the remembrance of Allah will the hearts be reassured. You will succeed with the remembrance of God. When you think of the divine cobra, it doesn’t matter if the glory of a country or a wrestler is even the undisputed champion of the world. Hasan Mr. Yazdani is competing with an American wrestler who is famous and has lost less and can succeed with this method.
He pointed out: A strong athlete is someone who is humble in victory and dear in defeat. The beauty of wrestling is in winning and losing. If losing is accompanied by honor, don’t sleep in the middle of the mattress, get up quickly because the world has not come to an end and every failure is the beginning of an adventure and a victory. Since we were on the battlefield, we tasted the bitter taste of defeat and the sweet taste of victory, but we tried not to stop at defeats, even though defeats for us meant the loss of a land and the martyrdom of our friends. The world is still in the dark about the goal that Maradona scored. I wish our athlete has so much moral courage to apologize when he makes a mistake, and if the referee doesn’t see our mistake, we warn ourselves.