Iranian wrestler says managers told him to throw match

TEHRAN – An Iranian wrestler said his managers told him to intentionally lose to a Russian competitor to avoid facing an Israeli wrestler in the next round.

Ali Reza Karimi told the semi-official ISNA news agency late on Monday that only one minute before the end of a Sunday round of the U-23 World Championship in Poland his coaches told him to throw the match to avoid facing an Israeli wrestler.

"In a moment, my whole world seemed to come to an end," he said.

Karimi told ISNA that he was beating Russian Alikhan Zhabrailov when coaches told him to lose. "I tried hard for months to get the world gold medal," he said. "Achieving a world medal is the only happiness for any of us."