Israeli judoka defeats US rival to reach Olympic semifinals
Sagi Muki, the reigning European champion in under-73 kg class, will face Rustam Orujov of Azerbaijan for spot in final
Israeli judoka Sagi Muki on Monday scored the country’s first judo victories at the 2016 Olympics on Monday, making it through to the semifinals.
Muki, the reigning European champion in the under-73 kg weight class, defeated American Nick Delpopolo with an ippon — the highest possible score in judo, which ends a round — in the quarterfinals of the Olympic men’s lightweight judo competition.
With the win, just hours after his defeat of Slovenian former European champion Rok Drakšič in the round of 16, Muki advances to the semifinals, within touching distance of a medal.
Muki faces Azerbaijan’s Rustam Orujov for a place in the final later Monday night. If he wins, he will have guaranteed at least a silver medal. If he loses, he’ll fight the other losing semifinalist for a bronze.
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.
Richter was expected to finish in the top eight among 50 contenders and move to the next round, but failed to make the cut.
In 2012, Richter 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.
Swimmer Amit Ivry finished the 100-meter breaststroke in 1:09, falling short of the top 16 and missing her chance to move on to the semifinals.
A short while later, Yakov Toumarkin finished the 100-meter backstroke in 54.66 seconds, which was not enough to push him into the next round.
On Saturday, Israeli judoka Shira Rishoni was disqualified from the Olympic Games in Rio on a technical foul during her first battle.
Israeli judo team members Or Sasson, Yarden Gerbi, and Linda Bolder are still in the running.
