" However, Alizadeh's recent decision to turn her back on the Islamic Republic didn't make it into the paper, which simply reported that she had resigned from Iran's taekwondo team. Earlier this week, Alizadeh said she now wanted to compete for Germany, but this could only happen if she were to be granted German citizenship, a process that usually requires eight years of residency, but can be accelerated for elite athletes if the authorities determine that doing so would be of "special public interest."
