He announced his decision on Algerian television on Thursday evening. Judoka Fethi Nourine withdrew from the Tokyo Olympics, so as not to have to face an Israeli opponent in his draw. If he had beaten the Sudanese Mohamed Abdalrasool on Monday in the first round, the three-time African champion under 73 kg would have fought the Israeli Tohar Butbul in the wake.
“We worked hard to qualify for the Games, but the Palestinian cause is bigger than all of this,” said Nourine, 30. This is not the first time that the Algerian has withdrawn from a competition for these reasons. He had also acted in this way during the 2019 Worlds in Tokyo. Several Iranian judokas did the same, their attitude triggering strong protests.