"A second judoka has pulled out of the Olympics judo competition seemingly to avoid facing Israeli Tohar Butbul, days after his scheduled opponent in a previous round was suspended for doing the same.
Butbul was listed as having 'No competitor' in what should have been a bout with Sudan’s Mohamed Abdalrasool in the men’s 73-kg division.
Olympic officials say Abdalrasool didn’t show up to face Butbul in their round, despite weighing in for the bout earlier.
The International Judo Federation didn’t immediately announce a reason why Abdalrasool didn’t compete, and the governing body didn’t respond to requests for comment.
Sudanese Olympic officials also didn’t immediately comment.
In January, Sudan signed onto the Abraham Accords with the United States, paving the way for the African country to normalize ties with Israel, but a report earlier this month said that Sudan was disappointed with the outcome of the normalization agreement. The agreement was widely protested in Sudan.
Abdalrasool is the world’s 469th-ranked judoka in his weight class, while the accomplished Butbul is seventh...
Last week, Abdalrasool had been slated to face Fethi Nourine of Algeria. The winner of the clash was to face Butbul, but Nourine pulled out of the contest before their bout in order to avoid the possibility of meeting the Israeli on the mat.
Nourine and his coach Amar Benikhlef had their Olympic accreditation withdrawn on Saturday and were sent home..."