Asi Maman 20/02/2021 08:34
Said Moulay and Moshe Ponti (Oded Karni)
“Come on, Said.” This is what the chairman of the Israeli Judo Association shouted from the stands, Moshe Ponti, When the Iranian judoka who represents Mongolia, Said Mulai, appeared for the final battle last night (Friday) at the Kvutzat Shlomo Hall in Tel Aviv as part of the Grand Slam tournament. In foreign eyes, for a moment it seemed that he had become one of the members of the Israeli team because much of Ponti wanted his success. It is not by chance that Moulay wanted to award the silver medal to the person who heads the industry in Israel immediately after the competition.
“I am an athlete, not a politician. “Israelis have a good heart,” he said later Filled In front of the cameras. An athlete who defected from his homeland Iran only because he was forced to boycott a fight against an Israeli opponent. The same opponent, Sagi Muki, was eliminated in the Tel Aviv Grand Slam already in his first fight, which immediately made the Iranian a Ponty favorite.
This morning (Saturday) Mulai has already left Israel, after a shaky personal experience that has become a world story. Farewell to where he grew up, beyond a country of refuge in Europe, landing in an “enemy state”, a big hug he received from Ponty and the Israeli public, cameras from all sides, angry reactions from the regime in his homeland that must have reached him, participating in a prestigious competition, winning a medal. And a souvenir victory picture. Yes, even though he lost in the final.
“This medal for Said Moulay is a first achievement after a long time without a performance on the podium,” said Moshe Ponti in an interview with ONE, which summed up Moulay’s historic visit to Israel. “It’s not easy to compete in the Grand Slam but he probably felt comfortable here. If you ask me, he should have gotten a gold medal, but he did his best and he really excited me. Every time I talk to him and see him, we straight hug. He is an athlete of the highest levels with a rare personality. “
Did you really imagine that he would come to Israel?
“I did not want him to come to Israel at all. I was afraid for his family because they are still in Iran. But when he arrived, he straight away received our big hug. An Iranian who won applause in the hall after every fight, every house in Israel that loves judo was for him and in general I think every Israeli was proud of this guy yesterday. He did a brave deed and I am glad that he came here and received a warm welcome. “
You have accompanied him personally in recent days. How did Said Mulai feel about being in a country like Israel?
“He is not referring to the politics and boycotts that Iran is forcing its athletes to do. He does not deal with everything around him, but only with sports, and that’s how it should be. He is an example and inspiration to anyone who lives the sport and wants to succeed, as an athlete who goes with his dream to the end. “
He has received special treatment from you here, something no one else has received.
“True, but next time he will be like everyone else. This time I did it because I wanted him to feel welcome, to feel that our country loves and embraces him and his coach (Muhammad Mansouri, EM). I did it wholeheartedly and with love. I love this guy, I wish I could adopt him and bring him to the State of Israel. He is a great athlete. “
Do you see him training with the Israeli team even before the Tokyo Olympics?
“First of all he belongs to Mongolia and lives in Germany, but if he wants to come here again? Yes, it is possible that he will prepare for the Olympics in our country and it is clear that there is a situation where he will come to train with the Israeli team. He really liked Israel, he is proud of the course he did and the dam has already been breached, so why not come and train here? In Germany he has no one to train with, and here he got all the conditions he needed including a training opponent on our behalf. For us, our door will always be open to him for anything he needs. “
VIP service and attitude
Landing in Israel was not easy for Moulay. Beyond the fact that he was excited and had a hard time dealing with the much attention from the photographers and journalists who stood outside the hotel where he was staying in Tel Aviv, the judoka was a bit delayed in leaving the airport because his luggage arrived late, but Ponty decided not to give up. He drove him to the hotel in a private car, sent the organizers left outside the hotel to buy him clothes as early as the next morning, got him new judo clothes for him and helped him spend the first few days comfortably. At one point, Ponty even sat with him and his coach in the dining room, and together they sang songs in Persian and shed a tear.
Is there a situation where you were moved by his winning the medal as if it were an Israeli Jew?
“No, I was excited in a different way. An Israeli athlete who wins a medal on Israeli soil is something that happens a lot, but an athlete who defected from Iran and won a medal in Israel is something that happened only once. “I’m not happy that he took a medal in this competition.”
The hug with him at the airport was planned?
“No. When he got to the field, I was very excited. I shed tears when he arrived. It was something big and it was a natural reaction. “
There was criticism of it and also of the organization of this competition in the days of a global plague. What do you have to say about it?
“It was a critique from individuals who had fun destroying me and I have no problem trying to. Whoever tries to destroy me, I try to ignore him and continue on my own. It did not stick with me. Here, there is an event and it is a beautiful sporting event. And what will they say now? Did I commit a crime? I caused hundreds of patients in the country? No, we have pleased many people. So all these statements, it did not stick with me. Came out at the end upside down, because success came. Success in organizing the event and success in having no patients. Bottom line, so far there has been only one verified patient who up to this moment is in isolation, and is also a total of one person out of 620 people, infected with corona for the second time. He did not leave the hotel and that is it, everything is going as usual even without him under strict conditions. And here, more tests are done and everyone is fine. “
“If Muki just wins – he will not bring a medal in Tokyo”
Alongside Moulay’s story, a big disappointment was recorded from Muki’s mistake that he did not come prepared for this event. The reigning world champion lost already in his first battle, in an uncharacteristic way, when he was eliminated with a quick iPhone. Despite this, the advantage in the team, with the help of coaches Oren Samadja and Shani Hershko, is that there are others who are able to do the job even if the seniors fake. After two days of competitions out of three, the Israelis have three medals by Gili Cohen, Timna Nelson Levy and Tohar Botbol.
What do you think of Guy Muki’s show?
“If he does not lose like this from time to time and he just wins all the time – he will not bring a medal at the Olympics. Oren Samadja lost in the iPhone a month before the Barcelona Olympics, and after a month he defeated the same opponent in the battle for the Olympic medal. This loss will only strengthen Sagi on his way to the gold medal at the Olympics. On his good day, Sagi easily defeats all the competitors who have been here, because this is one that if he wants to win and succeed then nothing will stop him. True, there are some issues, but we will solve them. We will take care of it so that it does not spread and cause negative momentum. “
We saw the performance of Gili Cohen who won a ticket to Tokyo at the expense of Geffen Primo, we saw Timna Nelson Levy win a medal and there are more Jewish women in the team of Shani Hershko who looked not bad. How do you see the situation in the women’s team?
“Shani Hershko’s team is a good team and Oren Samadja’s team is also a good team. They both coach that every country wants to be coached. They do an excellent job. ”
You recently refused a tempting offer submitted to Oren Samadja from a big team because he has a contract with you in the union. What was behind the decision?
“It is true that I refused an offer for Oren Samadja and told him so that he would feel good and understand that he is really a quality coach. Oren is a professional who is much bigger than me in training. I told him that many times. Yes, he is a bigger coach than me and his team is amazing. “
On paper, in about five months the Tokyo Olympics will be held. How many medals do you aspire to get there?
“If it was in Tokyo 2020 then we would have brought three Olympic medals – but we are in Tokyo 2021, so if there is one medal it would be good. I want one medal there, but gold. “
gold medal? Is this your new destination for Tokyo?
“Yes. One gold medal is worth four or five regular medals. ”
I mean, would you no longer settle for bronze medals like at the Tokyo Olympics?
“We have long since forgotten what a bronze medal is. It’s time for an Olympic judo champion. “
How do you see the judo industry in Israel? Suppose, compared to football.
“I do not compare the industries. I can only say that Israeli judo is at a very high level with very high quality teams and very special athletes. We have athletes who do not raise their noses and know how to work hard to succeed. We are before the Tokyo Olympics and I can say right now that we have one of the highest quality teams that have been here in Israeli judo. “
Hosted here European Championships, Grand Prix competitions, now the first Grand Slam competition. When will there also be a world judo championship in Israel?
“I dream, and also believe, that we will host a world championship here until 2025. You know what? I set that as a goal. We went through all the stages along the way and I think we managed to host competitions at the highest level. “
After the last day of competitions, you sat down with the chairman of the World Union, Marius Wieser, for dinner. What did he say about the current competition?
“It simply came to our notice then. It is not over yet, of course, it will continue today, but it is just heartwarming how we managed to produce such an event in not easy conditions. “
Was there a stage where you thought there would be no more competition, given the rise in morbidity and the closure of the sky? Was there a stage where you raised your hands?
“I walked around with a lot of worries, I was afraid there would be patients and it would be impossible to hold the Grand Slam. There was one moment when I was very worried about the fate of the competition, and that was when Marius Wieser told me that he could not postpone its date, but I did not give up, even when the country was closed. We did everything to make it happen. To my delight, everyone helped me. Sports Minister Hili Trooper was very helpful, Health Minister Yuli Edelstein helped because without his office there would be no competition here, Transport Minister Miri Regev helped us find solutions and more people helped behind the scenes. It is important to hold such a tournament at a time like this, it presents the State of Israel as a special state that does special things. That is why I define this event as a success even before it is over. “
