Israeli teen wins jiu-jitsu gold after UAE rival disqualified for throat-cutting gesture
Daniel Boaron, 13, initially lost in points to his Emirati opponent, Ahmed Alketbi, but took home the gold when Alketbi made hostile gesture toward the Israeli delegation
A young Israeli jiu-jitsu fighter took home a gold medal on Monday after his Emirati opponent, upon initially winning the final match, made a hostile throat-cutting gesture toward the Israeli delegation, leading judges to disqualify him from the competition.
Daniel Boaron, 13, the new champion of the World Jiu-Jitsu Federation’s under-14 division in the under-48 kg (106 lb) weight class, had initially lost in points to Ahmed Alketbi, of the United Arab Emirates, at the competition’s finals in Crete, Greece.
But members of the Israeli delegation cried foul immediately after the initial victory, when Alketbi turned to the audience and made a throat-cutting gesture, violating the rules of sportsmanship to which athletes are expected to adhere, according to the Jiu-Jitsu International Federation.
The incident was recorded by members of the delegation — in the video, they can be heard calling to the referee, immediately reporting what happened — who brought it to the attention of Amir Boaron, Daniel’s father, who also serves as the team coach.
“We went to the judges’ area and demanded that they disqualify the Emirati,” the elder Boaron recalled, according to Channel 12 news. “After two hours of discussions, the team of judges and federation [representatives] decided to disqualify him, and to award us the gold medal.
“[Alketbi] claimed he didn’t mean anything at all against Israel, and he apologized. I even accepted the apology, but I still thought he had to be disqualified,” the coach said. “There are rules to being an athlete, and if you conduct yourself that way, you shouldn’t win a gold medal.”
INSTANT KARMA: A competitor from the UAE defeated Israeli Daniel Boaron, 14, at the Jiu-Jitsu world championship final in Greece today, and celebrated by making a cut-throat gesture to the crowd.
The referees immediately ejected him from the tournament and awarded the gold medal… pic.twitter.com/wZdWhkUoUo
— (((Emanuel Miller))) ???????? (@emanumiller) November 5, 2024
The elder Boaron said that while the Emirati’s behavior was especially egregious, the Israeli delegation is used to encountering hostility from other athletes.
“We’ve run into hostile reactions since the start of the championship, from the audience as well as from a number of the competitors, such as those from Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia,” he said.
“We feel the hate toward Israel, but it won’t help them at all, because we’re proud to keep representing our one Jewish state, and the anthem will continue to be heard,” he said.
The young champion, who said he was “very moved” by the gold medal, said of his opponent: “I hope I’ll meet him again at the next final, to beat him on the mat, and to embrace him afterward, because he should know, you can’t bring politics into the sport.”
The competition in Greece also saw wins by several female Israeli competitors in the under-21 division, including Maya Behar, 19, who became world champion of the under-63 kg (139 lb) weight class; May Daniel, 18, the new champion of the under-57 kg (126 lb) weight class; and Michal Baly, 20, of the under-52 kg (115 lb) weight class.
In the under-16 division, gold medals were won by Zohar Sela, 15, and Lia Shalev, 15, while Rotem Ben Natan, 14, took home a bronze.
