A Saudi judo competitor pulled out of her first-round match at the Olympic Games in Rio De Janeiro on Sunday, ahead of a prospective second-round bout tie with an Israeli rival. While the Saudi Olympic team said in a tweet that Fahmy had suffered injuries to her arm and leg during training, Israel’s Channel 2 reported that she was not hurt, but chose to drop out rather than compete against Cohen.
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The Saudi delegation met with Israeli officials in July signaling that relations between the two nations have softened, despite Saudi Arabia refusing to recognize Israel. A short while after that Israeli Judoka Gili Cohen has also lost.
The loss for Pollack continued Israel’s poor showing thus far in the Rio Games. Problems began even before the opening ceremony, when the Lebanese national team refused to allow Israel’s delegation onto a bus headed for the main Olympic Stadium. When both teams were told to share a bus, the Lebanese players refused, resulting in Israel riding in a separate bus to the festivities.
Israeli reports say that Joud Fahmy wanted to leave the competition because she would be able to go up against meet 25-year-old five-time Israeli champion Gili Cohen in the next round if she beat out Christianne Legentil from Mauritius.
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In comments to the Financial Times, Dore Gold claimed, “The Sunni Arab states increasingly see the Middle East through the same prism as Israel” – faced with the increasing danger posed by Iran and radical Shiite terrorist groups.
