Iranian defector Saeid Mollaei dedicated his first ever Olympic medal to Israel and thanked the country for the support they have given him after a nail-biting final.
Mollaei, 29, won the silver medal representing Mongolia in the men's 81kg judo final on Tuesday, but lost out on claiming gold to Japan's Takanori Nagase.
The judo world champion, who trained in Israel with their national judo team in the months before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, thanked the country in Hebrew as he dedicated his first ever Olympic medal to Israel.
He told the Israeli Sports Channel: 'Thank you to Israel for the good energy. This medal is dedicated also to Israel.'
Iranian defector Saeid Mollaei (pictured) dedicated his first ever Olympic medal to Israel and thanked the country for the support they have given him after a nail-biting final
Mollaei (in blue), 29, won the silver medal representing Mongolia in the men's 81kg judo final on Tuesday, but lost out on claiming gold to Japan's Takanori Nagase (in white)
Mollaei defected to Germany after he disobeyed a direct order from Iran's minister to withdraw from the 2019 Judo World Championships in Japan to avoid fighting Israel's Sagi Muki.
The judoka obtained Mongolian citizenship shortly afterwards and has previously said that he fears for his life if he returns home.
Muki congratulated his 'close friend' Mollaei on his Olympic medal, despite his own disappointing loss to Austria's Shamil Borchashvili, which saw him knocked out in the round of 16.
He said: 'I know what he's gone through, and how much he wanted it. He's a very close friend of mine, and I'm so happy that he succeeded in achieving his dream.
'He deserves it - his journey is incredibly inspiring.'
Mollaei lost out on the Olympic gold medal to Takanori Nagase in a gruelling final that lasted more than five-and-a-half minutes.
The contest came to a dramatic close when Nagase, 27, delivered an ashi-guruma foot wheel to throw Mollaei down on the tatami mats to earn a waza-ari sudden death overtime victory
The judo world champion, who trained in Israel before the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, thanked the country in Hebrew as he dedicated his first ever Olympic medal to Israel
