[custom_adv] Alizadeh, who won taekwondo bronze at the 2016 Rio Olympics, announced earlier this month that she had defected to Europe because she felt she had been used as a propaganda tool by Iran. [custom_adv] “The Olympics is a great challenge for every athlete,” the 21-year-old told reporters in Luenen, northwest Germany, speaking through a translator. [custom_adv] “But it is still not clear at all whether I’ll be able to start in this one (Tokyo Olympics this summer). If it isn’t possible, then I’ll start in 2024.” [custom_adv] usa Cicek, vice president of the German Taekwondo Union, said there was no guarantee that Alizadeh would be selected to represent Germany in Tokyo even if the paperwork could be sorted out in time. [custom_adv] [custom_adv] “If there is a naturalization within the next 14 days, then it would be an option,” he said. “But we also have other athletes who have been battling to go to the Olympics for the last four years, and there won’t be a free ticket.” [custom_adv] “If there is a naturalization within the next 14 days, then it would be an option,” he said. “But we also have other athletes who have been battling to go to the Olympics for the last four years, and there won’t be a free ticket.”
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