An Iranian athlete may have been disqualified from judo competition because he was overweight, not because he refused to fight an Israeli competitor. It was originally reported that Arash Miresmaeili refused to fight Israel’s Ehud Vaks last Friday out of support for the Palestinians, a move that drew praise from Iranian President Mohammed Khatami. But the International Judo Federation later said Miresmaeili was overweight for the 146-pound match.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
