Boxer Sadaf Khadem cancels return to Iran after arrest warrant issued

Sadaf Khadem, the first female Iranian boxer to win an overseas fight, intends to stay in France, where she fought last weekend, after an arrest warrant was issued by her country.

Khadem and her trainer, Mahyar Monshipour, are in Poitiers and had been expected to return to Tehran after the win over Anne Chauvin. The 24-year-old, who works as a fitness trainer in Tehran, had defied her country’s rule that female athletes should dress in line with Islamic laws. Khadem was bare-headed and wore shorts for the bout in Royan.

“I was fighting in a legally approved match in France,” Khadem told L’Equipe, “but as I was wearing shorts and a T-shirt, which is completely normal in the eyes of the entire world, I confounded the rules of my country. I wasn’t wearing a hijab, I was coached by a man – some people take a dim view of this.”

There was no immediate comment from Iran but the national boxing federation appeared to distance itself from her. Hossein Soori, the head of Iran’s boxing federation, said Khadem was not a registered boxer in Iran and “in the view of the federation all of her activities are a private act”.

Monshipour was warned of the existence of the arrest warrant in a text message, a spokesperson for the pair said.

The Iranian federation “strongly” denied Khadem was blocked from returning or that she would be punished if she did. Monshipour, who has French and Iranian nationality, had been due to tour the country and give boxing classes. Their spokesperson added that the French sports ministry was aware of the situation.

“I want to improve as much as possible, go as far as possible and show other Iranian women that they can taste this sport,” Khadem had told AFP before the bout.

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