After mounting pressure from two Muslim athletes, Tahani Alqahtani (a Saudi Arabian Judoka) fought Raz Hershko in Saturday's over-78kg women’s category.Alqahtani & Hershko held hands at the end of the bout and then raised their arms in solidarity.It was unclear if the bout would take place after two judokas from the 73kg men’s category boycotted their bouts, rather than taking on their Israeli counterparts.After competing in the women's +78kg Judo match, Tahani Alqahtani, Saudi Arabia, and Raz Hershko, Israel, hold hands. AP Photo/Vincent ThianAlgerian judoka Fethi Noire was the first to pull out of the 73kg men’s event. He saw the draw and decided to stop. However, he knew that Tohar Butbut, an Israeli fighter, would be his next opponent. Nourine was scheduled to fight Sudan's Mohamed Abdalrasool, and had a good chance against Butbul in round 2.Nourine has now withdrawn from two tournaments because he was due to face Butbul. He pulled out of his second round bout against Butbul at the 2019 World Championships, Japan. At the time, he said that it was part a protest in solidarity to Palestinians.Nourine quit the Olympic Games. The International Judo Federation revoked Nourine's Olympics accreditation, claiming that his actions were "total contradiction to our philosophy."Nourine stated that "we worked hard to reach the Olympics... but the Palestinian cause was bigger than all this," and added that his decision was "final."Nourine's withdrawal meant that Abdalrasool was automatically qualified to face Butbul. However, the bout was canceled when Abdalrasool also decided to withdraw.Although the fight between Alqahtani & Hershko was halted due to withdrawals, it went ahead as planned. After one minute and 44 seconds, Hershko won by a knockout blow (which is known as ippon Judo).The judokas bow to one another at the end of the fight and then shake hands. After that, Hershko lifts Alqahtani's arm in the air.
