For many Iranian athletes, the most powerful opponent they face is not across the field. It is the regime that controls their lives.
To compete internationally, they must submit to a system that demands obedience, restricts their movement and punishes dissent.
Several members of the delegation, including captain Zahra Ghanbari, returned to Iran amid claims intense pressure was placed on their families. Such decisions should not be mistaken for free will. They are the byproduct of a system designed to make resistance almost impossible. What we are witnessing may be a cruel lose-lose scenario: the safety of an athlete traded for the wellbeing of a parent or sibling at home.
I hope with all my heart that I am wrong. But under this regime, punishment is not merely a possibility – it is often treated as a promise.