According to the Mehr News Agency, citing the news site of the Ministry of Sports and Youth, the following is the text of the words of Amir Hossein Zare, the Asian and world wrestling champion, in the meeting of the sports community with the Supreme Leader of the Revolution:
“I thank God that as a representative of the great sports community, I had the opportunity to speak to His Highness.
First of all, we have expressed our sadness, regret and impact from seeing the heartbreaking scenes in Gaza and we condemn these inhumane crimes.
We appreciate and thank you for your support of sports and athletes, and your kind messages always double our motivation following the successes of our beloved country’s heroes.
As you have said many times, today sports and its events are considered a big social, cultural, economic and even political event.
The huge number of its fans around the world indicates your expert view on this category and today sports can be used as a potential capacity in the above dimensions.
The presence of the sports champions of our beloved country and the sensitivity of their confrontation with foreign competitors can have an impact on national cohesion and prejudice of religious and national pride.
In the end, we should thank His Highness for his emphasis on supporting sports and athletes.”