In the 66-kilogram judo event at the Paris Olympics, Tajikistan's Nurali Emomali made headlines on Sunday. Emomali's match against Israel's Baruch Shmailov in the round of 16 of Pool B drew attention when he refused to shake Shmailov's hand after his victory. Reports suggest that Emomali also shouted 'Allah Akbar' towards his Israeli opponent.
Emomali proceeded to the quarterfinals where he faced Japan's Hifumi Abe. Unfortunately, Emomali sustained a left arm injury during the match while trying to break his fall, leading to his withdrawal from the tournament.
Following Emomali's exit, Serbia's Strahinja Buncic advanced in the repechage phase through a walkover. In the final, Abe emerged victorious against Brazil's Willian Lima, claiming his second gold medal in the event. Lima secured the silver medal, marking his first Olympic podium finish. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan's Gusman Kyrgyzbayev and Moldova's Denis Vieru both earned bronze medals.
Notably, Emomali was not the only judoka to decline Shmailov's handshake during the competition. Morocco's Abderrahmane Boushita also opted out of the post-match handshake following his loss to Shmailov.
Israel fielded a significant judo team at the Paris Olympics, with 12 competitors representing the country, four of whom competed on Sunday.
Elsewhere in the tournament, Algeria's Messaoud Dris was disqualified after failing to make weight a day before his scheduled match against Tohar Butbul. Consequently, Butbul was declared the winner by walkover by the International Judo Federation.
