Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul (archives)
Photo: Israel Judo Federation
Israeli judoka wins bronze following Iranian's withdrawal
Tohar Butbul takes Israel's second bronze medal at Dusseldorf Grand Slam, after Iranian judoka Mohammad Brimanloo purposely gains weight to avoid Israeli opponent in under-73 kilogram category.
Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul won Israel's second bronze medal at the Dusseldorf Grand Slam in Germany on Saturday, after Iranian judoka Mohammad Mahdi Brimanloo purposely gained weight to avoid competing against his Israeli opponent in the under-73 kilogram category.
Butbul beat Germany's Igor Wandtke in the decisive round.
Tohar Butbul in action (archives) (Photo: Oren Aharoni)
Baruch Shmailov won Israel's first bronze medal in the under-66kg competition on Friday, beating Russia's Yakub Shamilov of Russia.
Iranian judoka Brimanloo was supposed to compete in the first round against American Nicolas "Nick" Delpopolo, and likely planned to lose on purpose. Delpopolo, however, was injured on the eve of the fight, and Brimanloo automatically made it to the second round, but intentionally disqualified himself by gaining weight.
As a result of the Iranian's withdrawal, Butbul automatically advanced to the final 16, where he beat a rival from Gambia. In the next round, he lost to a Mongolian opponent, before beating the German judoka in the battle over a bronze medal.
It remains to be seen whether the International Judo Federation (IJF) takes action against the Iranian judoka.
