Iranian Athlete who displayed flag of Jihad used by terrorist organizations gets stripped of Paralympic gold, stirs massive outrage

Sadegh Beit Sayah was found to be in violation of the code of conduct of the World Para Athletics.

Iranian Athlete who displayed flag of Jihad used by terrorist organizations gets stripped of Paralympic gold, stirs massive outrage

Sadegh Beit Sayah unfurling the Jihad flag (Image in background and circle via Open Source)

The javelin throw in the Paralympics featured a political twist after the winner Sadegh Beit Sayah unfurled the ISIS flag rather than the Iranian national flag. His action resulted in the Olympic committee disqualifying him and stripping him of his gold medal.

The winner of an Olympic medal is allowed to present the authorized and acceptable state flag of their respective nation. However, Sadegh Beit Sayah whose jersey represented the colors of the official Iranian state flag decided to hoist a flag that represents Jihad and is proudly used by ISIS and other terrorist organizations.

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Sayah had run onto the track earlier in the day with the Iranian flag on his back. The state flag of Iran can be seen lying right near his bag as he attempted to unfurl the ISIS flag. His act left the audience in shock. He was openly condoning the message of Jihad and the violence of the terrorist groups.

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Sadegh Beit Sayah cost his nation a gold medal despite setting a new Paralympic record

This one action ended up overshadowing what was turning out to be a memorable day for Sadegh Beit Sayah. He had just set the Paralympic record in javelin throw with a distance of 47.64 meters. But owing to his actions, he was found to be in contempt of rule 8.1 of the World Para Athletics Rules and Regulations (Code of Conduct & Ethics).

Sadegh Beit Sayah
Sadegh Beit Sayah (Image via Open Source)

The rule states that the World Para Athletics is committed to maintaining the highest standard of integrity, ethics, and conduct in Para athletics. It further holds athletes, coaches, officials, and administrators liable to uphold and abide by these standards to ensure the sport is conducted in a fair, honest, and transparent manner.

Sadegh Beit Sayah’s disqualification resulted in Indian contestant Navdeep Singh’s original silver medal being upgraded to gold. This put India in the 15th overall spot on the medals table with a total of 29 in the Paralympics. Navdeep Singh fell just 0.32 meters short of Sadegh’s gold-winning throw at 47.32 meters. The silver lining for Singh and India in this fiasco is that he won his nation its first-ever gold medal in the Men’s Javelin F41 category.

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