Saudi judoka earns praise for facing Israeli opponent at Tokyo Olympics

AL-MONITOR Staff

Israel's Raz Hershko (blue) and Saudi Arabia's Tahani Alqahtani compete in the judo women's +78kg elimination round bout during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Nippon Budokan in Tokyo on July 30, 2021. — Israel's Raz Hershko (blue) and Saudi Arabia's Tahani Alqahtani compete in the judo women's +78 kg elimination round bout during the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at the Nippon Budokan, Tokyo, Japan, July 30, 2021. — Jack Guez/AFP via Getty Images

The global governing body of judo praised a Saudi Olympian on Friday for agreeing to compete against an Israeli opponent.

The International Judo Federation said that Saudi Arabia demonstrated that sports can bring people together.

“Saudi Arabia proves that, through sport, we can go beyond differences and make sport a force to unite the world,” the federation said in a press release.

Saudi judoka Tahani Alqahtani faced Israeli Raz Hershko on Friday in the women’s judo competition at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo. Judo is a Japanese martial art where opponents attempt to subdue one another through pins, take downs and other related methods. Hershko won their match in the more than +78 kg (+172 lbs) weight division.

Saudi judoka earns praise for facing Israeli opponent at Tokyo Olympics

Tahani Alqahtani is the first Saudi woman to compete in judo at the Olympics, bucking the trend of Middle Eastern and North African athletes refusing to face Israelis at the games.

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