Champion eliminated without a defeat

Iranian Judo world champion, Arash Esmaili, who bears two world championship in 2001 and 2003, was eliminated from the Athens Olympic games for refusing to play against an unknown Israeli athlete. This is not the first time Iranian athletes are refusing to play against the Israelis eventhough the Israelis were usually considered with having no chance of winning in most games/matches against the Iranians.

Arash has said that he refused to play against the Israeli athlete as a protest to Israeli policies and to show his solidarity with the Palestinians. I am not sure how much of this decision was his own and how much was dictated to him from Iranian government officials. But I think, the best and most effective way for Arash would have been to enter the match and beat the hell of the Israeli athlete, become the champion again, and then dedicate his gold medal to the Palestinians. By doing that, first, he would prove that Israelis cannot bully on the real one on one matches, second, he would continue adding to his medal collection, third, it would be huge boost to Iran's medal standing, and last but not least, he would bring some smile to the faces of the oppressed Palestinians who are suffering from Israeli occupation on a daily basis.