Iranian athlete Rozhan Goudarzi withdrew from a taekwondo tournament in Kenya after refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent, local media reports.
“Rozhan Goudarzi withdrew from the competition at the U-21 World Taekwondo Championships because she was in the same group as an athlete from the Zionist regime,” the ISNA news agency reports.
It adds that Goudarzi had been due to face the Israeli competitor, Yarden Nesher, in the first round.
Iranian officials protested against placing an Iranian athlete in the same group as an Israeli, but the World Taekwondo Federation said it could not alter the competition schedule, the agency added.
Last month, Goudarzi won a bronze medal for Iran in the women’s under 51 kg category at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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