A Bulgarian judoka who has competed for Israel’s national judo team is set to be deported from Israel on Wednesday after being denied a citizenship.
Ahead of her deportation, Betina Temelkova, who began competing for the Israeli squad earlier this year and recently won gold in the under-52 kilogram category at the Taskent Grand Prix in October, said her dream is to continue competing internationally in blue and white.
“I want the Israeli flag to be in the air and to sing the anthem [when I finish in] first place,” Temelkova told Channel 10.
“On the one side I am so happy because everyone is saying Israel is so proud of you, but on the other side they cannot take you as a citizen,” she added.
Temelkova, who is not Jewish, moved to Israel over two years ago to be with her boyfriend and fellow judoka Baruch Shmailov.
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Shmailov said she is being deported because she was unable to attend a meeting at the Interior Ministry regarding her visa, as she had to fly to Europe for a judo tournament.
Shailov said the couple would continue pushing for her to be allowed to remain in Israel.
“We have support from the judo federation and the sports ministry, but its not enough and we hope the interior minister will deal with matter,” he said.
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