The Olympics are generally the culmination of a life-long journey for athletes whose sole aim is to bring glory to their country and compatriots.
However, for some, the Games represent an outlet for their repressed dreams and a chance to make a fresh start. Hadi Tiranvalipour will be carrying such hopes at the Paris Games as part of the Refugee Olympic Team.
Tiranvalipour grew up in a province near Karaj and was a member of the Iranian taekwondo team for eight years, winning multiple national and international competitions. While studying for a masters in sports science and physical education, he also became a sports presenter.
Tiranvalipour publicly supported women's freedom in Iran, which did not go down well in his homeland. He was forced to flee the Iranian regime in 2022, arriving in Rome via Turkey and spending his first 10 days in Italy living in a forest.
His hardships did not end there as he was a refugee in a foreign country. The champion athlete had to wash dishes in restaurants to survive. But it was taekwondo that provided him a way out.
“When I arrived here, I didn't know anybody,” Tiranvalipour told Olympics.com. “And I told myself, ‘you only have one friend. Taekwondo is your friend.’ Taekwondo is not just a sport for me, taekwondo is my life and it gave me everything.”
He did not know how to restart his sporting journey so decided to simply ask for an opportunity, writing an email to the Italian taekwondo federation.
He went to the federation office and when he told them about his story again, they took him in. Tiranvalipour says he will forever be grateful to the Italian federation and sports minister Andrea Abodi for opening up a new pathway.
Competing at the Paris Games will be a dream come true for Tiranvalipour, who had taken up the sport after drawing inspiration from national champion Hadi Saei, who won three medals in taekwondo at the Olympics.
“I told my mother I would like to be like him, and one day I would like to participate in the Olympics like him. After 20 years, my Olympic dream has come true and I’m really happy. I would really like to get a medal like him,” Tiranvalipour recalls.
Tiranvalipour will compete in the 58kg category alongside Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Vito Dell’Aquila of Italy. Tiranvalipour and Dell’Aquila train together in the Italian taekwondo team and the former is grateful for his motivation.
"He is one of the best taekwondo players in the world,” Tiranvalipour said. “We are in the same category and always fighting each other. Whenever I’m tired, I look to Vito as an example and it motivates me.”
Having left his homeland, family and friends behind, Tiranvalipour admits finding a new purpose is difficult. But he now wants to represent the hopes and aspirations of refugees who only wish to lead a peaceful life.
“A refugee athlete is nothing like a normal athlete,” he admits. “They have a really difficult life, and we are far away from our family. I want to be at the Olympics to represent 120 million people. I know life for refugees and displaced people are so difficult, so I want to be a good example.
“We don’t have a flag, but we have 120 million people behind us, so we have to represent all of them. If you have a dream, you have to keep going. This is our responsibility to tell them.
“If you have a dream, if you have a target, if you have a purpose, you have to keep going.”
Tiranvalipour is among 14 Iranian athletes who make up the 37-member Refugee Team.
Olympic Refugee Team athletes
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No more lice
Defining head lice
Pediculus humanus capitis are tiny wingless insects that feed on blood from the human scalp. The adult head louse is up to 3mm long, has six legs, and is tan to greyish-white in colour. The female lives up to four weeks and, once mature, can lay up to 10 eggs per day. These tiny nits firmly attach to the base of the hair shaft, get incubated by body heat and hatch in eight days or so.
Identifying lice
Lice can be identified by itching or a tickling sensation of something moving within the hair. One can confirm that a person has lice by looking closely through the hair and scalp for nits, nymphs or lice. Head lice are most frequently located behind the ears and near the neckline.
Treating lice at home
Head lice must be treated as soon as they are spotted. Start by checking everyone in the family for them, then follow these steps. Remove and wash all clothing and bedding with hot water. Apply medicine according to the label instructions. If some live lice are still found eight to 12 hours after treatment, but are moving more slowly than before, do not re-treat. Comb dead and remaining live lice out of the hair using a fine-toothed comb.
After the initial treatment, check for, comb and remove nits and lice from hair every two to three days. Soak combs and brushes in hot water for 10 minutes.Vacuum the floor and furniture, particularly where the infested person sat or lay.
Courtesy Dr Vishal Rajmal Mehta, specialist paediatrics, RAK Hospital
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
