I get where you’re coming from, it is a huge shame we don’t get to see some of our top guys competing more internationally, and it’s easy for me to say sitting at home when it’s not my career on the line, but for me country comes first. I mean, I’m not out here cheering for Atri for fun, I support every athlete representing Iran. And although wrestling is an individual sport the team element has always been a huge.
Another thing, when it comes to the many Russians and Americans wrestlers that rep another country, they stay in their countries at their original clubs then just dust off the second passport when it’s competition time. Whereas with our athletes it’s much more of a case of defecting, normally for personal or political reasons, and they leave Iran permanently. (Not judging btw, everyone has their own situations and beliefs). So are we talking about Masoumi literally packing up and moving to Azerbaijan? Would be a huge shock honestly.