Sasson won against Egypt’s Islam El Shehaby in the opening round of the competition Friday, and then reached the semifinals by defeating Maciej Sarnacki of Poland in the round of 16 and Roy Meyer of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals.
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“At a time when Israel’s position in the world is deteriorating, and athletes refuse to shake hands with their Israeli opponents, such sporting achievements are the best answer to all our critics around the world and especially in countries that are trying to delegitimize Israel”.
After the match, El Shehaby, 34, was summoned back to the mat by the referee, who demanded that he bow. The two men glowered at each other and the crowd jeered El Shehaby as the two men left the mats.
El Shehaby refused to comment afterward.
El Shahaby had come under pressure from Islamist-leaning and nationalist voices in Egypt to withdraw entirely from the fight. “We believe that the Olympic movement should be about building bridges, not erecting walls”.
Sasson went on to win the bronze medal in his event.
“I knew to put that incident aside”, Sasson told reporters later, after winning his medal. “But I can not say anything”. “Egypt will cry; Egypt will be sad and you will be seen as a traitor and a normalizer in the eyes of your people”.
El Shehaby chose to compete anyway, but he couldn’t bring himself to engage in basic sporting etiquette afterward.
In a Facebook post, journalist Galal Nassar said: “As long as you agreed to play an Israeli champion in the Olympics, you should have exchanged the greeting”.
He wrote that El Shehaby’s move backfired, and the Israeli athlete ended up with more sympathy.
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Asked whether the two athletes will shake hands, Hatab said, “the delegation doesn’t allow mixing politics with sports”.
