Statements [Need for athletes to strengthen spiritual and moral dimensions]

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

I am glad to have met you gentlemen and pray for you. God willing, the athletes will have spiritual training in the same way they have physical training. Since remote past Iranian athletes have remembered God and `Ali (peace be upon him), which is one of their outstanding characteristics. I wish wherever you go you are victorious and successful in exporting the revolution in all its senses. I hope you will be champions when it comes to ethics. Thank God, ethics is found in abundance among athletes. Notice that all the propaganda carried out against Iran aims to restore the country to its previous situation. Try not to be impressed by such propaganda. Today your country is outstanding in the world because of your power. Your country today is one of the most powerful countries in the world. We should struggle to preserve this power.

[ Then Imam Khomeini referring to one of the athletes who had lost two legs and an arm in the warfront said; we are proud of having such youths. I wish God would grant him two wings in the hereafter to enable him to fly in Paradise.