Israeli judoka reaches Rio semifinals, will face current gold medalist

Brushing off an unpleasant encounter with his defeated Egyptian opponent in the first round, Israeli judoka Or Sasson went on to win two more fights and claim a semifinal place in the men’s over-100kg competition at the Rio Games on Friday.

Sasson beat Poland’s Maciej Sarnacki in the second round and Roy Meyer of the Netherlands in the quarterfinals, and will now face the current holder of the Olympic gold medal in his sport, France’s Teddy Riner.

A defeated Meyer paid tribute to Sasson’s fighting skills after their match, but told Israeli TV that he is not going to beat Riner.

The Frenchman has not lost a competition in six years, and in 2012 won the top prize at the London Games. He is also the only judoka in the world to ever win eight World Championship gold medals.

Sasson found himself at the center of a row earlier Friday, when his defeated first-round rival, Egyptian Islam El Shahaby, refused to shake his hand at the end of the match.

In judo it is customary to both bow to opponents — a sign of respect in Japan — and shake hands after a bout is over.

El Shehaby, who lost by an ippon, stood impassively and then backed away as Sasson tried to shake his hand.

As he left the mat area, El Shehaby was called back to the center by the referee to bow. He was then loudly jeered out of the arena by angry supporters.

He later announced he was quitting the world of judo.

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The 32-year-old Egyptian, a world championship medalist in 2010, had faced pressure on social media and from hardline Islamist groups in his homeland to withdraw from the fight.

Unlike some other Muslim and Arab nations, Egypt has no history of withdrawing from judo bouts against Israelis.

The Egyptian Olympic Committee had insisted before the fight that El Shehaby would compete.