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World Judo Championships

Israel’s Raz Hershko reacts after winning the women’s over 78 kg bronze medal bout at the World Judo Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, on October 10, 2026. (Anne-Christine Poujoulat/AFP)
October 14, 2026, 9:11 pm
Israel’s Raz Hershko looks to next challenge after Bronze win at Judo World Championships
Hershko dedicates victory to Yonatan Goutin, a champion judoka of Israel’s youth division who was killed on Oct. 7; says her pride in competing for Israel is stronger than ever
By Tomer Almagor
Director Guy Nattiv, second from right, with the actors in 'Tatami,' filmed in Georgia in 2022, his latest film about an Iranian athlete forced to make an impossible decision (Courtesy Guy Nattiv)
September 19, 2023, 3:44 am
After tackling Golda, director Guy Nattiv goes to the mat for Iran’s exiled athletes
The Israeli filmmaker discusses his new film, ‘Tatami,’ which grapples with anti-Israel pressure on Iranian judokas, and blames jeers for his Meir biopic on the political climate
By Jessica Steinberg
Inbar Lanir poses with her gold medal after winning the World Judo Championships in Doha, Qatar, May 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Hussein Sayed)
May 12, 2023, 10:35 pm
Israel’s Inbar Lanir wins gold at World Judo Championships in Qatar
Judoka becomes Israel’s 3rd world champion, dedicates her win to those under rocket fire
By Luke Tress
Bronze medallists Team Israel celebrates during the medal ceremony for the mixed teams event of the 2022 World Judo Championships at the Humo Arena in Tashkent on October 13, 2022. (Kirill Kudryavtsev/AFP)
October 13, 2022, 7:01 pm
Israel’s mixed judo team wins bronze at world championships in Uzbekistan
National team beats Netherlands 4:2 after overtaking Uzbek and South Korean teams and losing to French
By Sara Serfaty
Israel's Gefen Primo reacts after her fight against Uzbekistan's Diyora Keldiyorova, in the bronze medal match of the women's under-52kg category during the 2021 Judo World Championships at 'Papp Laszlo' Arena in Budapest, Hungary, on June 7, 2021. (Attila KISBENEDEK / AFP)
June 7, 2021, 8:34 pm
Israel’s Gefen Primo wins bronze at World Judo Championships
21-year-old beats Uzbek opponent in under-52 kg category to become 1st Israeli woman on tournament’s podium since Yarden Gerbi in 2014; still, she will miss Olympics
By ToI Staff
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei at an undisclosed southern city of Germany, September 12, 2019. (AP Photo/Michael Probst)
November 3, 2019, 6:33 am
Germany grants refugee status to Iran judo champ who fled country in Israel row
‘Now I can fully concentrate on judo,’ says Saeid Mollaei, who can’t return home after exposing his government’s pressure to throw matches to avoid Israeli opponents
By ToI Staff and Agencies
Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei reacts after losing to Belgium's Matthias Casse in the semifinal fight in the men's under-81 kilogram category during the 2019 Judo World Championships in Tokyo, on August 28, 2019. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
October 26, 2019, 4:05 pm
Judo ban for Iran over refusal to face Israelis a wake-up call ahead of Olympics
With Israelis increasingly winning top spots in judo and taekwondo, another discipline in which Iran is a traditional force, the regime’s Israel-ban is becoming divisive
By AFP and ToI Staff
President of the International Judo Federation Marius Vizer at the opening ceremony of the Judo World Championships in Budapest, Hungary on August 28, 2017. (Tamas Kovacs/MTI via AP)
September 18, 2019, 3:06 pm
Iran suspended from world judo federation over Israel boycott policy
After Iranian athlete was coerced into throwing matches to avoid facing Israeli, and then defected, Islamic Republic banned from all judo competitions and activities
By ToI Staff and Agencies
An Instagram exchange between Iranian judoka Saeid Mollaei and Israeli Sagi Muki. (Screenshot)
September 2, 2019, 9:44 pm
Iran judoka congratulates Israeli champ he was forced to throw match to avoid
In Instagram exchange, Sagi Muki in turn hails Saeid Mollaei as an ‘inspiration’ after Iranian flees his country and recounts threats, pressure to lose in World Championships
By ToI Staff and Agencies
In this picture taken on August 28, 2019, Iran's Saeid Mollaei (in white) fights against Belgium's Matthias Casse during the semifinal of the men's under-81kg category during the 2019 Judo World Championships, in Tokyo, Japan. (Charly TRIBALLEAU / AFP)
September 2, 2019, 3:25 pm
Iran judo champ afraid to go home after forced to throw match against Israeli
World body to sanction Iranian judo federation as Saeid Mollaei says his family was threatened by the government to pressure him to avoid facing Israel’s Sagi Muki
By ToI Staff and Agencies
Belgium's Matthias Casse (in blue) celebrates winning the semifinal fight against Iran's Saeid Mollaei in the men's under-81 kilogram category during the 2019 Judo World Championships in Tokyo on August 28, 2019. (Charly Triballeau/AFP)
September 1, 2019, 3:46 pm
Iran judoka, forced to throw match to avoid Israeli, refuses to compete for Iran
Former world no. 1 Saeid Mollaei, who fled to Germany after pressure from Tehran to lose semifinal last week in Tokyo, says he’ll now fight under the Olympic flag
By ToI Staff
Saeid Mollaei in 2018 (YouTube screenshot)
September 1, 2019, 1:26 pm
Judo chief threatened to kick Iran out of Olympics if Israel snubbed — report
Enraged Marius Vizer called Iran’s Rouhani after learning of pressure on judoka Saeid Mollaei to throw match to avoid facing Israel’s Sagi Muki, Army Radio says
By ToI Staff
Israel's Or Sasson celebrates after defeating Cuba's Alex Garcia Mendoza to win the men's +100kg judo bronze medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro on August 12, 2016 (AFP PHOTO / Toshifumi KITAMURA)
October 16, 2017, 6:03 pm
Israel says judo team barred from wearing national emblems in UAE
Judokas will go to Abu Dhabi Grand Slam but organizers won’t play anthem if Israel wins, won’t allow team to wear blue uniform
By AFP
August 30, 2017, 1:29 am
Israeli wins bronze at World Judo Championships
Tal Flicker defeats Georgii Zantaraia in under 66 kilograms category, bringing home Israel’s 9th ever medal at tournament
By ToI Staff
Israel's Yarden Gerbi (left) competes at the Abu Dhabi Judo Grand Slam wearing Internaitonal Judo Federation (IJF) uniform, in a tournament held on October 31 2015. (Screen capture YouTube)
November 1, 2015, 11:25 am
Israeli judokas win medals in Abu Dhabi, but without flag
Yarden Gerbi and Sagi Muki take bronze while wearing judo federation’s insignia; minister vows to fight boycott on blue and white
By ToI Staff
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