Vahid Sarlak

Who is Vahid Sarlak?

Vahid Sarlak is an Iranian judoka. Overall he has won 18 medals – 5 gold, 6 silver and 7 bronze at different international contests. Sarlak began his Judo practice in 1994 at the age of 13 in Tehran, Iran and earned his first silver medal at the Asian Youth Championships in 2000. Since then he has successfully competed in Judo tournaments earning international awards. He came close to winning the gold medal at the 2005 World Judo Championships in Cairo, because of the Iranian government’s political issues with the Israeli Regime, Sarlak was obliged by the Iranian Federation to lose to his Azerbaijani competitor in order to prevent him from competing with his Israeli opponent in the next round. Nevertheless, in the year 2009 after successfully achieving the 5th place in the World Championships at Rotterdam, Netherlands and after 12 years of continued effort and accomplishing numerous medals and rewards, Sarlak came to the point of leaving his homeland due to the effect his country’s political issues had on his career. Later he became a legal resident of the German nation and shortly thereafter joined the German Bundesliga Judo team. Vahid Sarlak continues receiving medals and awards up until the present.