Who Is Sadegh Beit Sayah? The Iranian Para Athlete Who Was Stripped Of His Gold Medal At Paralympics

India's Navdeep Singh's silver medal was upgraded to gold after initial winner Iran's Sadegh Beit Sayah was disqualified for repeatedly displaying an objectionable flag following a dramatic men's javelin throw F41 final at the Paris Paralympics on Saturday. (Day 11 Blog | Full Coverage)

The 23-year-old para-athlete from Haryana, who had finished fourth at the Tokyo Games three years ago, produced a personal best effort of 47.32m to claim the top position.

His silver was upgraded to gold after Sadegh's disqualification. Pengxiang (44.72m) finished with a silver.

Sayah had managed to nose ahead of the field with a new Paralympic record of 47.64m in his penultimate throw but lost the medal owing to his antics.

He displayed a non-state flag during celebrations. He was seen with a black flag with Arabic text written on it. He was handed two yellows for the offence before being stripped of his gold.

The International Paralympic Committee rules bar athletes from making any political gestures at the event and Sayah was thrown out of the final results for unsporting/improper conduct.

Who Is Sadegh Beit Sayah?

As per the Paralympic website, Sadegh Beit Sayah was born on 17th December 1986 in Ahvaz. He represents the F41 category - classification meant for athletes of short stature.

He is into accounting and speaks Farsi. As per the information provided by the website, Sadegh took up para athletics at the age of 23.

"A friend told me that there was such a thing as Para athletics, and he asked me if I wanted to go for a fitness test. After the test the coaches told me that I had a talent for throwing events," he was quoted as per the Paralympics website.

His achievements include silver at the Asian Para Games, Tokyo Paralympics. He event finished second at the World Championships in 2023 and 2024.