Iranian freestyle wrestler Alireza Karimi has spoke of his disappointment at being ordered to lose a match at the under-23 world championships in Poland to avoid a potential meeting with an Israeli opponent.
"I had trained so hard and firmly believed in the world title," Karimi told the ISNA agency on Tuesday.
"But then came the instruction (from his coach) and it was like a bucket of cold water on all my dreams."
The BBC reported Karimi was leading Russian Alikhan Zhabrailov 3-2 before the match was stopped so he could speak to his coach.
Karimi eventually lost 14-3.
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Iran does not recognise the state of Israel and its athletes are forbidden from facing Israelis at sport events.
Israeli Uri Kalashnikov, who went on to win the bronze medal at the Bydgoszcz championships which concluded Sunday, would have been Karimi's next opponent.
Karimi, who was one of the favourites to win the title, is demanding the Iranian wrestling federation pay him the bonus of 60 gold coins (around $A26,600) he would have earned for victory.
Iranian footballers Masoud Shojaei and Ehsan Hajsafi have been dropped from the national team and face missing the 2018 World Cup after playing against Israeli opposition in the Europa League with their club Panionios in August.
