Sudanese judoka refuses to face Israeli opponent
Some athletes in the Middle East and North Africa face domestic pressures to refuse to face Israelis in competition.
A Sudanese judoka pulled out of his match against an Israeli opponent at the Olympics on Monday. It was the second time a martial artist refused to fight an Israeli at the marquee sports competition.
Mohamed Abdalrasool was scheduled to face Israeli Tohar Butbul in the 73-kilogram (160-pound) men’s division in Tokyo, according to the official draw. However, Abdalrasool failed to show up for their match Monday, despite previously weighing in, The Associated Press reported.
It was the second fight in a row Butbul won by default due to the withdrawal of his opponent. Last week, Algerian judoka Fethi Nourine withdrew from the Olympics rather than face Butbul.
Butbul later competed against Moldovan Victor Sterpu on Monday and won, but then lost a quarterfinal match to South Korea's An Changrim. That knocked Butbul out of contention for a silver or gold medal. He was then eliminated from bronze medal contention by Canada’s Arthur Margelidon in what is known as a repechage match.
