A teenage table tennis player has eluded her team in Denmark and refused to return to Iran, a sport federation said and Iranian media reported, in another likely case of athletes seeking refuge abroad.
"Baran Arjmand, a 15-year-old member of Iran's youth national team who participated in the World Championships in Sweden, left the delegation after the competition concluded," the Iranian Table Tennis Federation said Friday.
"This young athlete, without notifying or coordinating with the federation, introduced herself to police in Copenhagen while the team was returning to Iran," the statement added, without describing her potential motivations.
Many Iranian athletes have sought refuge while abroad in international sporting competitions in recent years.
Forty percent of the 36 athletes selected for the 2024 Refugee Olympic Team hailed from Iran.
The considerable presence of Iranian refugees on the team followed a surge in the emigration of athletes, artists, and skilled workers from Iran, driven by increasing economic pressure and anti-government sentiment.
Despite having received her boarding pass for her flight home, Arjmand refused to return to Iran, a report by the Tasnim News agency affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said.
Arjmand asked for the Danish police's help to prevent her return to Iran, it added. Neither Arjmand nor her family has issued a statement regarding her decision.
Many Iranian athletes who remain abroad have cited political pressures, social restrictions, or personal reasons for their actions. In January 2023, Iranian alpine skier Atefeh Ahmadi applied for asylum in Germany after traveling to Europe for training.
In December 2021, Shaghayegh Bapiri, a member of the Iranian women’s handball team, refused to return to Iran after a tournament in Spain, citing the country’s mandatory hijab rules and other restrictions she faced.
Similarly, in 2019, judoka Saeid Mollaei sought asylum in Germany after alleging pressure from Iranian authorities to withdraw from competitions to avoid facing Israeli opponents.