Report: Saudi Judo Player Forfeits Rio Match to Avoid Israeli

Congolese judoka Popole Misenga (R) is pushing to compete in the Rio Olympics as part of t
AFP

The Times of Israel reports:  Saudi Arabian competitor Joud Fahmy forfeited her first-round judo match against Christianne Legentil from Mauritius at the Rio Olympic Games on Sunday, in what Hebrew media said was a maneuver to avoid facing Israeli judo fighter Gili Cohen in the next round.

The Saudi Olympic team tweeted that Fahmy had sustained injuries to her arm and leg during training and was advised by medical staff not to compete, the Hebrew language Ynet news site reported. According to Channel 2, Fahmy was not hurt, but simply dropped out to avoid competing against the Israeli judoka.

Cohen then lost to Legentil in a brief second-round bout later in the day.

Read the full story here.

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