Tajik judoka refuses handshake with Israeli rival at Paris Olympics
Tajik judoka Nurali Emomali has refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent at the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games, becoming the second Muslim athlete to snub a representative from the regime at the international multi-sport event in protest at atrocities against Palestinians.
The 22-year-old judo practitioner faced off against Israel’s Baruch Shmailov at the round of 16 in Pool B of the men’s 66-kilogram category on Sunday.
He refused to shake Shmailov’s hand after his win. He was also heard shouting Allah Akbar (God is the Greatest) toward his Israeli opponent.
Emomali went on to square off against Japan’s Hifumi Abe in the quarterfinals. But Emomali went down with a left arm injury as he tried to brace his fall and was forced to withdraw from the tournament.
Serbia’s Strahinja Bunčić advanced in the repechage round of the event via walkover.
Abe went on to defeat Brazil’s Willian Lima in the final to give Japan their second gold at the Paris Olympics.
Lima secured a silver medal – the first Olympic medal of his career.
Kazakhstan’s Gusman Kyrgyzbayev and Moldova’s Denis Vieru each finished with bronze medals.
Earlier, Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita had refused the handshake with Shamilov after his loss to him.
Messaoud Dris of Algeria withdrew from the Paris Olympics judo competition in the men's 73-kilogram division after being selected to compete against Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul.
The International Judo Federation issued a brief statement declaring Butbul the winner by walkover.
For the second straight Olympics, an Algerian judoka has dropped out of the Games right before he was to face Butbul. In Tokyo, Algeria's Fethi Nourine withdrew to avoid even a potential second-round matchup with Butbul.
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