Israeli judoka loses out on Olympic bronze

Israeli judoka Sagi Muki narrowly lost out on a bronze medal Monday in the men’s lightweight judo semifinals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

Muki, the reigning European champion in the under-73 kg weight class, was defeated by Georgia’s Lasha Shavdatuashvili in a run-off for third place. He lost to Shavdatuashvili in an ippon — the highest possible score in judo, which ends a round.

The Israeli was previously defeated in the semifinals by Azerbaijan’s Rustam Orujov, who went on to compete for the gold medal.

In the quarterfinals, Muki had beaten American Nick Delpopolo with an ippon. That win came hours after his defeat of Slovenian former European champion Rok Drakšič in the round of 16.

Israeli judoka Sagi Muki fights Lasha Shavdatuashvili of Georgia for the bronze medal in the men’s under 73kg judo competition at the Olympic Games in Rio on August 8, 2016 (screen shot: Channel 56)

Monday also saw Sergy Rikhter, Israel’s great Olympic hope in the men’s 10m air rifle, finish a disappointing 14th place with 623.8 points.

Rikhter was expected to finish in the top eight among 50 contenders and move to the next round, but failed to make the cut.

Sergy Rikhter at the World Cup tournament in South Korea, April 2013. (courtesy)

In 2012, Rikhter was one point away from making the championship round. He was European champion in 2013.

On Sunday, four Israeli athletes were knocked out of the Games, including judokas Golan Pollack and Gili Cohen.