Leader Commends Olympic, Paralympic Champs

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei congratulated and applauded the champions of the recent Olympic and Paralympic competitions, describing them as messengers of hope. 
In a meeting with medal winners of the Tokyo games on Saturday, he said they conveyed a message of perseverance, hope and vitality to society and the youth by proving that what appears impossible is actually realizable, Leader.ir reported. 
He praised the athletes’ great determination to win despite difficulties, adding that such strong will is also seen in other sectors such as science, technology, art and literature.
The Leader stressed the importance of refusing to recognize the cruel Zionist regime which is trying to gain legitimacy by appearing in international sport competitions while the global arrogance also help it. 
“The honorable Iranian athlete cannot shake hands with the representative of the criminal [Israeli] regime and practically acknowledge them for the sake a medal,” he said, adding that sports people and authorities must not become passive in this regard. 
He also called on sports and foreign ministries and judicial organizations to counter Israel’s reciprocal efforts to ban sportspeople from international games through legal channels. 
The Leader later advised the sport officials to make plans for the improvement of the country’s rankings in the Olympics, support domestic producers of sports costumes and equipment, pay more attention to Iranian sports and use it to attract tourists, prefer hiring Iranian coaches and address financial problems of the champions.