Judo competitor refuses to shake Israeli opponent’s hand, cops instant karma

A judo competitor from Tajikistan refused to shake his Israeli competitor’s hand after beating him at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Nurali Emomali faced off against Israel’s Baruch Shmailov in the round of 16, with the Tajikistan athlete snubbing his opponent.

It wasn’t the first time Shmailov was on the receiving end of a handshake snub after it occurred in his first match in the men’s under-65kgs weight class.

Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita also refused to shake the hand of his Israeli opponent.

Shmailov won the contest and advanced to take on Emomali but was defeated with his Olympic campaign finishing.

As the contest ended, Emomali walked off the mat without shaking Shmailov’s hand.

Emomali however was subjected to immediate karma in his next match as he went on to compete against Japan’s Hifumi Abe.

In the middle of the contest Emomali was left in tears on the mat after suffering an apparent shoulder dislocation.

Social media had a field day with the instant karma being dished out.

Michael Dickson wrote on X: “Bad sport Nurali Emomali from Tajikistan refused to shake hands with Israeli judo competitor Baruch Shmailov and shouted “Allah Akbar”. Nurali ended up with a dislocated shoulder crying on the mat. Olympic levels of karma.”

Journalist Emily Schrader added: “Karma’s a b****. Tajikistan’s Nurali Emomali refused to shake hands with Israeli judoka Baruch Shmailov. In the next round, he ended up with a dislocated shoulder, sobbing on the mat.”

While Emomali came under attack online, Algerian judoka Messaoud Redouane Dris was disqualified ofor exceeding the weight limit the day before his Olympic bout against Israeli Tohar Butbul, organisers said.

The 22-year-old weighed in at 73.4kg in Paris, 0.4kg over the limit, resulting in him being removed from the draw by the international judo federation.

Organisers said in a statement that Dris had “failed the weigh-in” and therefore his opponent would “win the scheduled contest by walkover”.

In the past several other judokas have pulled out or refused to compete against Israeli opponents.

The Algerian national Olympic committee declined to comment when contacted by AFP.

“Tohar’s competitor has removed himself from the competition,” the Israeli Olympic Committee said in a statement.

“The Israeli delegation will continue to compete with the Olympic values in mind. We believe this kind of behaviour has no place in the world of sport.”

Dris’s compatriot Fethi Nourine was sent home from the Tokyo Olympics three years ago for refusing to fight Butbul.

“We worked a lot to reach the Olympics … but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this,” Nourine said at the time.

– with AFP