Ga onbeperkt met Magzter GOLD
Krijg onbeperkte toegang tot meer dan 9000 tijdschriften, kranten en Premium-verhalen voor slechts
Poging GOUD - Vrij
REFUGEE NEVER GIVES UP ON PATH TO PARIS
The Straits Times
|November 16, 2024
Forced to flee Iran, Tiranvalipour achieves taekwondo Olympic dream at 2024 Games
Making his Olympic debut at the 2024 Paris Games was a major milestone for taekwondo exponent Hadi Tiranvalipour.
But what made it even more special was the drastically different path that the 26-year-old took to reach the pinnacle of sports.
Forced to leave Iran in 2022, Tiranvalipour fled to Turkey, then Italy, where the former TV presenter worked as a dishwasher and trained at a public park alone before eventually achieving his dream as part of the 37-member Refugee Olympic Team in Paris.
It was a dream that was 20 years in the making after he was inspired by Iranian taekwondo exponent Hadi Saei's gold-medal winning feat at the 2004 Athens Games.
Tiranvalipour said: "It (Paris) was really great and emotional for me. I arrived at my goal after 20 years. To create a champion doesn't just take only one day or one night, you have to never give up.
"It was also really emotional for me when I participated in the Olympics with the Refugee Olympic Team, because this team is different.
Dit verhaal komt uit de November 16, 2024-editie van The Straits Times.
Abonneer u op Magzter GOLD voor toegang tot duizenden zorgvuldig samengestelde premiumverhalen en meer dan 9000 tijdschriften en kranten.
Bent u al abonnee? Aanmelden
MEER VERHALEN VAN The Straits Times
The Straits Times
AI use could make us ‘subcognitive’
AI threatens students’ most basic skills. If they lose their ability to understand what they read, will they lose their ability to think?
4 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Clean tech can scale up with state support, blended finance: Panel
Such technologies are on the rise across Asean as countries seek to reduce emissions
4 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Nearly 700 more children fall ill in Indonesia after eating free school meals
The Indonesian authorities are investigating food poisoning cases involving nearly 700 children in Yogyakarta province this week, after students ate meals prepared under President Prabowo Subianto’s key free school meal programme, an official said.
1 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Lim Boon Heng takes 'ultimate responsibility' on failed Allianz-Income union
He and NTUC Enterprise board admit that the offer could have been managed better
3 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
VACHEROT MASTERS TOUGH MOMENTS
2025’s surprise package happy with how he handled pressure points in win over Norrie
2 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
TNP merges with Stomp
Refreshed website aims to better resonate with younger audience, attract new readers
3 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Malaysia considers live monitoring of school CCTV footage by police
Malaysia's Home Ministry is considering a proposal to link school CCTV systems to the police to enable real-time monitoring and enhance security.
1 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Trump asks Pentagon to immediately resume testing nuclear weapons
He says it is necessary to keep up with rivals; Russia and China criticise move
2 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Over 350,000 have registered for QR code system at JB checkpoints
More than 350,000 people have registered for the National Integrated Immigration System (NIISe) to use QR code lanes at the Johor-Singapore border.
1 mins
October 31, 2025
The Straits Times
Don't forget human touch as SG60 exhibitions go digital
I recently attended the SG60 exhibition at the Orchard Library. While I appreciate the initiative to celebrate Singapore's 60 years of progress, I would like to share some sincere feedback and suggestions for improvement.
1 mins
October 31, 2025
Listen
Translate
Change font size