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Hadi Saei

Iran's first gold medalist at 2008 Olympics

Earlier this morning, at 9:00 am EST, Hadi SAEI of IRAN won the first Gold Medal of IRAN in the Beijing Olympics. He won the Gold Medal by defeating his Italian opponent, Mauro SARMIENTO, in the final match of the 80 kg division of TAEKWONDO. This is Hadi's third Olympic Medal. He won a Gold in 2004, and a Bronze in 2000. I have included two (2) videos here: His Gold Medal Match, and The Medal Presentation Ceremony. Hope you enjoy them. Also see videos of his victories in earlier rounds in Beijing.

Gold Medal Match:

Hadi SAEI (IRAN) vs Mauro SARMIENTO (ITALY)

 

THE MEDAL PRESENTATION CEREMONY

22-Aug-2008
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Hey, I like what you

by startwithart (not verified) on

Hey, I like what you mentioned IranianIranian, it's actually true, there are many Turkish Iranians in the world. And actually I am one too. I am an Ayrumlu living in Canada today. I am related to Tadj-ol-molouk. I would like to say that we should all be grateful to our earth first rather than any nation. We are all descendants of the same person. Borders should not cut us off eachother. Nationalism is sometimes fun, but however it can become a problem when it is taken too seriously. So please, appreciate others for what they have done, not what they are.


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In the name of Iran and People of Iran

by Amir Nasiri (not verified) on

First of congratulation to my hero and Iranian of the day Mr.Saei. You have shown that we can beat others in their sports. You are a true Iranian hero.

To those opportunists who try to cause division amongst Iranian, no comments

Iran is one, one nation for all its people no matter of color, religion, ethnicity, gender or sexual orientation.

God Bless Iran and Iranian People


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Hadi is an Iranian first

by IranianIranian (not verified) on

I am an Iranian who'se father is an Azeri Turk from Hamadan Province, and my father always told me, in his Azeri language in fact, "sen her sheyden evvel iranlisan" (Translation: You are an Iranian before anything else). Now, to fools like the person here who goes by the name "Azerbaijani Turk): There have MILLIONS of Azeri-Persian intermarriages due to the common Shia faith and common Iranian nationality, and especially in Tehran it is extremely hard finding anyone who does not have at least one Azeri parent or one Azeri grandparent; in fact out of Tehran's seventeen million inhabitants, FIVE million are ethnic Azeris, and this does not include an extra few million who have mixed Azeri-Persian blood. In other words, Tehran has more Azeris than Baku, which has only two million inhabitants.
My father is an ethnic Azeri, my mother Persian. How could I possibly love one side more than the other? I love my Azeri roots as much as my Persian roots. But rather than identify myself as an Azeri or Persian, I prefer calling myself an "Iranian". The Safavi were Azerbaijani Turks, and they fought tooth and nail against the Ottoman Turks in order to protect Iran's territorial integrity. Hadi is no exception, he is an Iranian first. The same way another Olympic gold medalist, Hossein Rezazadeh, an Azeri from Ardabil, said, "I am an Iranian first". The same way Ali Daei, another Ardabili said, "I am an Iranian first". EVEN the late Shah of Iran, whom pan-Turkists and pan-Turanists accuse of having been a "Persian chauvinist" had an Azeri mother, Taj ol Molouk Ayrumlu (you can't get more Azeri than the last name Ayrumlu), and Farah Diba's family (his wife and former Queen of Iran) came from an ethnic Azeri family from Tabriz. Tehran is the most Azeri city in the world, and Tehran's Bazaar is Azeri-dominated, not to mention every other grocery store or bakery or business in Tehran. Azeris run Tehran.
So, if I may say this to you in Azeri, "Khahesh elirem ishine meshghul ol. Irandaki turkler oz charesine bakharlar, ve khaen (senin kimi) dali sora gezmir. Men yarim azeriyem, ama Iran menim ruhumdu, menim konlumdu, menim ureyimdi. Yasha Iran, Var Ol Iran".


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(No subject)

by Bacheh Tehran (not verified) on

//www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8706041252
استاندار آذربايجان شرقي:

مراسم تجليلي در شأن «هادي ساعي» در تبريز برگزار مي‌كنيم

خبرگزاري فارس: استاندار آذربايجان شرقي گفت: مراسم تجليل از هادي ساعي تنها ورزشكار طلايي ايران در المپيك پكن، در شأن و منزلت وي برگزار مي‌شود.

به گزارش خبرگزاري فارس از تبريز، محمدكاظم معمارزاده امروز در جمع خبرنگاران افزود: آقاق ساعي فرزند آذربايجان است و ما به داشتن چنين قهرماني افتخار مي‌كنيم.
وي با رد هرگونه شايعه پيرامون تأثير گرايشات سياسي ساعي بر استقبال و برگزاري مراسم تجليل از اين ورزشكار ايراني گفت: با رد همه اين مسائل مي‌گويم، ساعي مايه غرور ملت ايران است.
استاندار آذربايجان شرقي در ادامه اظهلر داشت: به همين دليل، تدابير برگزاري مراسمي باشكوه در تبريز را انديشيده‌ايم و به زودي شاهد برگزاري اين مراسم خواهيم بود.
هادي ساعي، تكواندوكار كشورمان موفق شد در مسابقات المپيك پكن مدال طلاي اين مسابقات را به خود اختصاص دهد و تنها مدال‌آور طلايي كشورمان در اين مسابقات باشد.
وي متولد بستان آباد يكي از شهرستان‌ها استان آذربايجان شرقي است.
انتهاي پيام/ع


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Azerbaijan Turk

by Azita (not verified) on

Did Mr.Hadi Saei dedicate his medal to the Republic of Azerbaijan??????????? NOPE!!!!!!!!!!! HA HA HA...
He dedicated his medal to the province of Azarbaijan, an IRANIAN territory.


Khanom Nahid Panahi

Dear Pahlevan Hadi

by Khanom Nahid Panahi on

I want you to know that we are extremely proud of you, as an Iranian first, and as Azerbaijani second. Both of my parents are from Azerbaijan. We always considered ourselves as Iranians first, and then Azerbaijanis.

I want to take a moment to address this gentleman Azerbaijani Turk: I believe that you would be happier if you moved to the country of Azerbaijan. Many of us Azerbaijanis who are from Iran like the fact that we are part of Iran. Unfortunately, your hatred towards Iranians first, and then towards Persians, has made you unhappy being an Iranian.

My profession is in the field of Mental Health. I have come across in the past a number of people such as yourself, Mr. Azerbaijani Turk, who have had pent-up anger and hatred towards others because of their question of Identity. For some reason, you believe that the Azerbaijanis are superior to the Iranians and the Persians. If you truly believe that is the case, then as an earlier commentator had indicated, please explain why Azerbaijan has never been a stand-alone country until recently, and most of the time under the domination of Iranians and the Persians.

What I am trying to tell you is that with the hatred and resentment that you have towards the Iranians and the Persians, that you are just better off moving to the country of Azerbaijan. It's really that simple.

Historically, there is another thing that you have to understand: The Azerbaijan that was part of the Soviet Union is not like the Azerbaijan that is part of Iran. The Soviet Union Azerbaijanis kept to themselves. The Irani Azerbajinas have married throughout Iran, and are part of ALL Iranian families. In a typical Iranian family, ether the aunt, uncle, father, mother, etc. is an Azerbaijani. The Azerbaijanis are part of the inseperable fabric of the Iranian family and socity.

Therefore, rather than acting childish, please try to grow up. We are happy for Hadi because he has made ALL Iranians proud. Not just the people of Azerbaijan.


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خبرگزاري فارس: هادي ساعي مدال خود را تقديم به مردم آذربايجان كرد

Azerbaijani Turk (not verified)


//www.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=8706021402

guys get this ha ha ha

به گزارش خبرگزاري فارس از تبريز، هادي ساعي قهرمان ارزنده تكواندو المپيكي چين طي پيامي به مردم آذربايجان اين افتخار و مدال خود را تقديم به مردم ايران اسلامي، آذربايجان و بستان آباد، زادگاه خود كرد.
هادي ساعي پرافتخاترين ورزشكار طول تاريخ المپيك ايران اسلامي امروز گفت: بسيار خوشحالم كه اين مدال رنگين را با دعاي خير مردم براي كشورم به دست آوردم و پرچم پرافتخار و مقدس ايران اسلامي را در المپيك چين به اهتزاز در آوردم.
وي افزود: سلام گرم و صميمي خود را به مردم غيور و خونگرم آذربايجان به خصوص زادگاه خود،قره كويل بستان آباد مي رسانم و اميد آن دارم تا اين هديه ناچيز من را بپذيرند.
انتهاي پيام/ع


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Pahlevan Hadi

by AlabakhPishiAlabakh (not verified) on

Pahlevan Hadi, you made us proud. Thank you!

To the Azerbaijani Turk ,

I am a Azeri, we don't have any Turks in Iran, we have Azeris. Turks live in Turkey (a common mistake made by the Azeri and the Fars alike in Iran).

Did you know that the very name of Azerbaijan derives from Atropates, a satrap of Persia under the Achaemenid empire? Do you want to tell us that the Achaemenid were Turks?

Nobody uttered a word of Turkish in Azerbaijan up until the arrival of the raiding / nomadic Oghuz tribes 900 years ago (11th Century). Now of course we have a huge infusion of Turkish words in Azeri.

But does speaking English make Calcutta Indians or Lahore Pakistanis ENGLISH? I don't think so!

I lived in Turkey for 2 years. You know, Azeri character is different from the Turkish character, racially too we are different. We are Iranian.

But if you feel particularly Turkish, then, go ahead, it is a free world.

If however you want to act as a Turkish version of an agent provocateur, then just read the responses here and get a fair estimate of the strength of you cause!

Like I said, you will probably find greater happiness across the border...Go join Chehregani, he probably needs company by now and you are as good as he is going to get for now!


caramel

Jamshid R

by caramel on

You bet all Azerbaijanis are proud of their Iranian heritage! On my mom's side they're from Tabriz, and many of them have been living outside Iran for close to 35 years, and they still continue to identify themselves with Iran, its history and culture.

Azerbaijani turk, you bring a bad name to 30 million PROUD Azerbaijani Iranians. SHAME ON YOU. Also, you should know that this site has not been created to make stife but rather to bring Iranians of all backgrounds and beliefs together in harmony and peace. YOUR TACTICS ARE INDEED VERY UNWISE.


Jamshid R

Hadi Jan Mamnoon

by Jamshid R on

Thank you very much for making us proud.

Azerbaijani Turk, as you can see, others have answered you for me. I want to wish you well.

I want to thank all others, especially other Azerbaijanis, who have tried to straighten this guy out. We all have Azerbaijanis in our families, and we know that most, if not all of them, are proud of their Iranian and Persian heritage - Unlike our friend Azerbaijani Turk

Best of Luck to you All _ Tks Again

 


Ms Judy Golshani

Well Done Hadi

by Ms Judy Golshani on

We are extremely proud of You. May God bless you.

Azerbaijani Turk, I am so glad that other Azerbaijanis are criticizing you for your attitude. I can speak Farsi very well. I guess the best thing that I can say is the famous words from the great Sa'adi that: Khar Issa Garash Be Make Barand, Cho Baz Gardad Haman Khar Bashad. I am sure you get the message.

Have a great day :) - BTW, my husband's father is from Azerbaijan, and when I asked him whether Hadi's ancestors were from there, he said no - I hope that has answered your question!!


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I am so proud today.

by Babak R. (not verified) on

This was a great achievement for the Iranian nation, but we even can do better. From the start of 2008 Olympics, I used to check the countries medals ranking everyday with Iran without a gold, but finally a day arrived that Dear Hadi gave us a gold medal. Since then during last few day I have been such a "Nadid Beh Did" checking the nations medals ranking every hour. I feel so good and proud. Thank you Hadi Jan. God bless you. When I am outside Iran my nationalistic feelings becomes tripled. Hadi Saie brought me amazing feelings and I am so thankful for that. I am an Iranian and feel good about it. Hadi Jan thank you from bottom of my heart for this gift in a time that our nation is confronting so many hardships. Hadi Jan please take care of yourself you belong to a nation. Gad Bless you.

Babak R.


Darius Kadivar

Khoshteep Barekalla ! ;0)

by Darius Kadivar on

Great Job !

Makes Us Proud !


caramel

Azerbaijani looser

by caramel on

YOU HAVE A VERY DARK SOUL MY FRIEND, AND YOU DEFINETELY NEED HELP.

ALSO, YOU HAVE NOT TOUCHED ANYONE WITH YOUR IRRATIONAL COMMENTS BUT RATHER YOU HAVE REVEALED TO EVERYONE THE GRAVITY OF YOUR ILLNESS.

P.S. PLEASE DONT DISGRACE THE NAME OF AZERBAIJAN. I AM PART AZERBAIJANI AND WE ARE NOTHING LIKE YOU.


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Jamshid ;) Tehran is the world’s second largest Turkish city :)

by Azerbaijani Turk (not verified) on

populatin of Azerbaijanis are sizable enough to render Tehran the world’s second largest Turkish city. I don't say this, this guy Glickman says it

//www.henryjacksonsociety.org/stories.asp?id=336

Since you had a farsi saying, here I add a saying in Turkish " It hurer karvan kechar = The dogs bark, but the caravan has moved on. Let us fall into name calling and see who wins;) my parsi compatriot.


Majid

My hamvatan "Azerbaijani Turk"

by Majid on

With all due respect my friend, if I were you, I would just "STOP" right after the first comment!

We do not need to add any more fuel to the fire that's determined to burn our roots, "yours and mine"......................... man oloum. 

GUELAH GUELAH!

 


Jamshid R

To: 'Azerbaijani Turk'

by Jamshid R on

In Farsi there is a saying that: Khariyat Faghat Alaf Khordan Nist

Hadi was born in Shahre Rey, Tehran. He is Bache' Tehran. This is the link to his bio:

//www.iribnews.ir/Default.aspx?Page=MainContent&news_num=163639

As someone who likes the Azerbaijani people, I have to say that behavior such as yours, unfortunately, plays directly into the hands of those who like stereotyping Azerbaijanis in general, and and Turks in particular, as stupid.

We have had many great Azerbaijanis in the Iranian and Persian history. People such as Sattar Khan and Bagher Khan. Please do not act in such a way to demean their contributions and heritage to both the Persian and Iranian History.

Thanks


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afarin pahlevoon

by Non_azarbaijani (not verified) on

khaili khosham omad va tabreek. Ok, he is an iranian just like us and we are children of Iran. USA hires and recruits other nationalities to compete in Olympic and that is their secret to success. however more than anything else, a good human being is not measured by place of her birth or his creeds; but for good deeds as a good rule model for rest of us.
Congratulations to Mr. Hadi and you.

regards


Majid

جناب حمید

Majid


جناب حمید بیگ

"یک ذره" عرق ملی‌ داشتن هیچکس رو فلج نمیکنه

موضوع‌ها رو قاطی نکنیم، لطفا

ممنون  

 


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ohhh I see why he got a medal,,, he is also an Azerbaijani,,

by Azerbaijani Turk (not verified) on

what would you guys do without us ha ha ha. Hadi is also a Turk. Persians are also good, but just for writing poetry and smoking opium. shamo gholo parvaneh ha ha ha

thank you all for your comments, I touched some sun burned persian and persianized skins. so emotional :))


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yup, fighting is out thing

by sportsfan (not verified) on

when it comes to individual sports, fighting is out thing. Wrestling, martial arts, even weight lifting is motivated by fighting.

anyway damesh garm.


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Para State: A Note For Future: Beyond Government

by Professor Dr. Abol Danesh (not verified) on

.Persian Carpet
.Medals in Olympic, preferably god
.Great Intellectuals
.Great Inventors
.Great Doctos
.Great Businessmen
.Great...

Government! Keep your hands off the "Chosen"
Today!
Tomorrow!
No matter in what shape or form you will be reborned in the future!

Glory!


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poshtak zadanesh ham dar

by kofri (not verified) on

poshtak zadanesh ham dar payan harf nadasht!


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Afareen....Hazar Afreen

by Sialashgar on

Thank you Thank you

Monday at work I will be very proud for my Iranian ethnicity.

We have a gold medal.


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Yashasin Hadi...your Medal is equal to 1000 gold medals!

by Bache Tabriz (not verified) on

Chakere har chi javanmard Irani!
Hadi aziz, you are in every Iranian heart. You made us proud. When I look at you, I see a strength of a mountain (salabate kooh).


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Azerbaijani Turk you are next

by Anonymouss (not verified) on

Russians are coming.


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Barikala, I take back

by skatermom (not verified) on

Barikala, I take back everything I ever said a few days ago about Iranians being non athletic. Very proud! I wonder if Mr. Miyagi coached him.


sanazi

Resentful Azerbaijani Turk

by sanazi on

Jealousy is a terrible illness, and I hope you get treated one day. Clearly these intense negative emotions are making you resent us. Your reaction is very irrational. Please consider therapy for yourself.

Good Luck!

 


Majid

Azerbaijani Turk

by Majid on

در زیر پای بوته "هرزی" شقایق له شده

اما برای ماندن سرخش "تقلا" می‌کند!

 

"شب دراز است و قلندر بیدار"

 

Congratulations to HADI

 

 


Tafreshi

Thanks for the video Haj agha, it was very interesting

by Tafreshi on

This was the first time that I watched an olympic event for more than 5 minutes. What a performance by Hadi Saei, no wonder he is the world champion.