Spectators booed Egyptian judo fighter Islam El Shehaby following his first-round loss to Israel’s Or Sasson. When the referee called El Shehaby back to the mat to perform the customary bow, the athlete simply nodded his head quickly.
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In footage from the match, El Shehaby can be seen lying flat on his back for a moment before returning to his place by the referee, facing Sasson. “I knew there was a chance he would not shake my hand”, said Sasson, who was fighting El Shehaby for the first time.
Although he refused to comment after the match, his disrespect was probably in part due to the mounting pressure from Islamic and nationalist groups in Egypt that tried to get him to withdraw from the match completely.
Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby, right, refuses to shake hands with Israel’s Or Sasson after being defeated in their over judo match.
A Chinese swimmer, a Polish weightlifter and a Bulgarian steeplechaser were expelled or suspended Friday from the Olympics for doping, the first athletes sanctioned after failing drug tests at the games.
“This is something driven perhaps by the Egyptian people, by the Egyptian regime, but it does not look to me like something personal”, he said. Judokas are expected to either shake hands or bow at the beginning and end of matches.
However, new rumours emerged a few days ago, suggesting that Shehaby planned not to shake his Israeli counterpart’s hand at the end of the fight, which is common civility during sporting encounters.
Ori Sasoon suffered a heart-breaking and dramatic defeat, when he was beaten in the last second of his 100kg semi-final on Friday evening.
Tweet reads: “Joud Fahmy suffered injuries in her hand and foot during training, and the medical committee recommended she not participate in the judo competition in the Rio Olympics today”.
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Asked whether the two athletes will shake hands, Hatab said, “the delegation doesn’t allow mixing politics with sports”.
