ASGARI GHONCHEH Bahman

General
SANCTION
He was given a one-year suspension by the World Karate Federation [WKF] after he tested positive for the prohibited substance clomifene in May 2021 at the Premier League event in Lisbon, Portugal. The ban meant he missed the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, and he became eligible to return to competition on 13 June 2022. He claimed the substance was present in a prescribed medication he had been taking. (wkf, 02 Jul 2021; insidethegames, 05 Jul 2021; Instagram profile, 24 Jul 2021)

OLYMPIC EXCLUSION
He expressed his disappointment at the announcement that karate would not be returning to the Olympic programme for the 2024 Games in Paris, but said it did not affect his motivation to compete. "The only thing that is clear is that by eliminating karate, this sport and the athletes will be affected. I just hope that it will be back at the 2028 Olympic Games. Karate is a popular discipline. A large number of people follow it. There are many professional karatekas. Competitions are very appealing and have engaged many young people. Many athletes have worked hard to reach the Olympic level, and such decisions take away their hope. I base my future path on the idea that life goes on, and whether karate is in the Olympics or not, we must strive to achieve our other goals. Some aim for world championships, some for the Asian championships, and others for the Asian Games. There are many other competitions." (etemadnewspaper, 12 Dec 2020)

FILM
A documentary about him called 'Bahman's Rise' was in production in 2020. The film is directed by Hossein Rahmati. "I think it took them a year and a half to two years to be able to document my life. However, when I was involved in competitions and my focus was on securing an Olympic quota spot, the national team officials did not allow the film crew to come at that time. Once I qualified for the [2020] Olympics, the filming started. It took about two and a half to three months to get the job done." (etemadnewspaper, 12 Dec 2020)

FITNESS CENTRE
He runs a fitness centre called SenseiFit in Qazvin, Islamic Republic of Iran. (Instagram profile, 03 Aug 2023; SenseiFit Instagram profile, 20 Jul 2023)