After the Algerian Nourine had already given up for political reasons, the Sudanese Abdalrasool now also renounced a fight with Butbul.
Tohar Butbul.
At the Olympic Games in Tokyo, a judoka again gave up his fight against an Israeli opponent. According to official information, the Sudanese Mohamed Abdalrasool did not take part in his second-round fight against the Israeli Tohar Butbul in the weight class up to 73 kilograms on Monday. A reason for the 28-year-old's withdrawal was initially not given.
Abdalrasool should have fought the Algerian Fethi Nourine in the first round. However, he decided not to take part in the games in order to avoid a possible second-round duel with Butbul. The World Judo Federation then temporarily suspended the athlete and began further investigations. The 30-year-old and his coach had justified their decision in the Algerian media by saying that they did not want to fight an Israeli.
The Sudanese did not initially provide any official information about his waiver. According to Butbul, the Israeli team was told that Abdalrasool had not started because of a shoulder injury. Butbul later missed entry into the medal bouts. The disappointment outweighed the confusion about the two rejections by the opponents. “My whole career has been geared towards this goal,” he said.
