The Paris Olympics have been a whirlwind of controversy and it’s still only in the infancy of the games.
While many of the game’s coordinators have been dealing with international backlash and telling everyone that they are operating within the “spirit of inclusion,” one Olympic competitor threw that statement to the wind.
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As reported by Fox News, “Judoka Nurali Emomali of Tajikistan refused to shake hands with his Israeli opponent, Tohar Butbul, following their match in the round of 16 Sunday. Emomali, who won the match, chose to walk off the mat without the customary post-match gesture.”
Instead of shaking hands, Emomali yelled “Allahu Akbar” and held up a Muslim prayer symbol.
In a twist that many have called divine justice, Emomali’s next match against Japan’s Hifumi Abe slammed the Olympian to the mat with such force, and as Emomali tried to brace his fall with his arm, he dislocated the socket in a brutal way that was caught on video of the match.
Social commentators were quick to point out the extreme level of irony and poked fun at the injured wrestler, claiming he had it coming and should have been disqualified for refusing to shake hands in the first place.
Regardless, Emomali has seen his Olympic journey come to an end for these games, while the nation of Israel still has one judoka, Butbul, continuing in the search for gold.
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James Lasher is Staff Writer for Charisma Media.