Everyone Says We Did Well, but We Believe We Performed Poorly

The head of the Athletics Federation, referring to the performance of the national athletes sent to the 20th Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, said: We ourselves believe we performed poorly.

According to Mehr reporter, Ehsan Haddadi said in a press conference today, referring to the results of the national athletics teams in the Asian Games in Nagoya: "From the point of view of the sports community and sports-loving people, we got a good result, but we believe that we performed poorly." In the previous period, we had an acceptable result, but when I took over the responsibility, on paper, there was not much difference between sending the team and winning a medal. However, I always felt that there was an atmosphere of despair in the country, but I believed that it would happen.

He continued: From the beginning, I wanted the athletes to give themselves more chances. If I bring 70 athletes to the camp and say we will get only one medal, the motivation of the team will be lost. Finally, 11 people made it to the team and I told them that everyone can win a medal. Of course, many of our athletes, except for a few, had a medal chance in terms of record and ability.

He added: Despite this fact, we failed and we failed badly. However, we promise to get 15 medals in the next games. If we got 10 medals, we should not think that we have done a great job. We have to accept that if we don't get a medal, we have failed.

Criticizing the pride after winning the medal, this coach said: The athlete succeeds when he forgets the previous medal. You won a medal, enjoy your life; But it was over and gone. If Mrs. Zarei wants to repeat her medal, she should start planning for the next goal. Winning her medal is a great honor and one should congratulate the first Iranian woman to win a medal, but the work continues from here on.

He emphasized: In general, me and the federation are not satisfied with the performance of the team and consider the result a failure. We have to sit down and diagnose why this happened. In this way, we get help from other disciplines and experts who have more experience.

Explaining the reason for not attending the Asian Games, he said: The atmosphere of the Asian Games is not pleasant for me and I have had the experience of attending it. On the other hand, I believe that the athlete's specialist trainer should be by his side. We tried to invite the coaches, but due to some reasons, it was not possible for some of them to attend. I have always believed that the priority should be with the coach of the athlete, not the officials. In 2012, they didn't send my coach and physiotherapist, and that's why this issue is very important to me.

He further added: It is my responsibility, but the coach must be with the athlete during training and competition and answer his technical issues. For this reason, I preferred to have specialized coaches with the athletes.

Reacting to the incident, Haddadi, who was born in Nagoya, added: I consider myself the youngest member of this family and I have no claims. My life was also supported by the medals I won during my sports career. Our heroes should be able to live in this country, get medals, be proud and raise the flag of Iran, but this path should be coordinated with the planning and decisions of the federation.

He added: I have to go back to the winter of 1403 to explain more. At that time, we brought three foreign coaches to the country, coaches with experience in various disciplines, including hammer throw, heptathlon and decathlon, and 200, 400, and 800 meters. We held several meetings and a team was supposed to be formed to continue the work if results were obtained.

When I won an Olympic medal myself, a five-member team worked in Germany to prepare and support me; From trainers and doctors to masseurs and physiotherapists. Championship sport is not just an individual work, and team and support are needed to achieve results. We also provided all the facilities we could for our athletes.

The head of the athletics federation continued: I believe that the protocols should not be changed for different tastes. In championship sports, if a decision is made, it should be implemented clearly and uniformly. At the same time, success should not be recorded in the name of one person. If an athlete gets a medal, coaches and other team members also have a share in it. We should recognize success as a result of teamwork and recognize everyone's efforts.

He added: Before the competition, technical and operational issues were also examined, for example, in the technical meeting, the standards of shoes and equipment were explained to the athletes. We tried to do what we could. If there is no result despite these measures, I don't want to blame the athlete.