Tehran, July 16: The President of the International Judo Federation (IJF) voices sympathy with Iran over a deadly plane crash that killed members of Iran’s Junior Judo squad.
Marius Vizer extended his condolences over the tragic event in a letter to Iran’s Judo Federation, ILNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
Ten members of Iran’s Junior Judo squad — eight athletes and two coaches — were among the passengers of an Iranian plane which crashed in northwest Iran, killing all the 168 people on board.
The Iranian judo team was traveling to the Armenian capital, Yerevan, for a training camp.
“The crash is a catastrophic incident for the international judo. I express my condolences to their families and the Iranian Judo Federation,” Vizer said.
“I will soon travel to Iran to sympathize with the bereaved families,” he added.
Vizer further pointed out that the participants in the international competitions in Hungary in August will hold one-minute silence to commemorate the victims of the crash.
The United States Judo Federation also extended its sympathies to the victims, their families and the Iranian Judo Federation.
“I urge you to join me in mourning the loss of our judo brothers that have had their lives taken from them at such a young age. Whether one of those athletes might have gone on to become an Olympic Champion or bring the gift of judo to a town or village that had not been introduced to the sport, sadly, we will not have the opportunity to know,” said USA Judo Federation’s President Lance Nading.
“These young athletes will not have the chance to grow into adulthood and fully understand and appreciate the global bond that we all share as judoka. On behalf of USA Judo, we hope that their family, friends and teammates in their hometowns accept our sincere condolences on their tragic loss,” he added.
The Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 went down about 16 minutes after taking off from Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International Airport.
Vahid Ebrahimi, Iman Zeinivand, Hossein Bana, Saeid Rasouli, Mostafa Sabbaghi, Yahya Baqerpour, Mosayyeb Aziz Elahi and Alireza Lashkari were the Iranian athletes who were accompanies by Ali Bahrami and Ali Mohaddes as coaches.
—–Agencies