Iran praises Olympics player for position

TEHRAN, Aug. 15 (UPI) -- Iranian President Mohammad Khatami Sunday praised an Iranian judo Olympics player for refusing to compete against an Israeli opponent.

Khatami said Iran's judo champion, Arsh Mir Ismaili, was considered by the Iranian people as "the champion of the 2004 Olympics Games."

The Iranian president sent a letter to Iran's physical education minister about Ismaili's refusal to compete with an Israeli opponent at the Athens Olympics to protest "the Zionist killing of the Palestinian people." Khatami called that refusal a "heroic act."

Ismaili lost his chance of winning an expected gold medal when he refused to compete against an Israeli opponent as an act of solidarity with the Palestinians.