Imagine struggling with serious pain and trouble in one of the most crucial matches of your career. Now, imagine those struggles becoming the talk of the town, but instead of gaining sympathy, they attract hatred and criticism. It would sting anyone, right? For Tajikistan’s Judo player, Nurali Emomali, this unfortunate situation unfolded during his quarterfinal match at the Paris Olympics.

Nurali Emomali refused to shake hands while playing against his Israeli counterpart Baruch Shmailov in the round-of 16-match on Sunday. This had drawn enough flak for him from the Sports community, with fans bashing him for the gesture. Later, he found himself in a troubled scenario during his quarterfinal clash against Hifumi Abe of Japan. Emomali suffered a dislocated shoulder in the match and was seen in tears on the mat. Earlier, Emomali defeated his Israeli counterpart in 1:17 mins and left without shaking his hands.  

The fans, meanwhile, have been calling it ‘instant Karma,’ and have been bashing the Judo star. But, above everything, the dream run for Emomali has also come to an end. The Tajikistan player, who would have been eyeing a Gold Medal at the grand stage of the sport, has now been ousted from the tournament, and that too with an injury. And while the criticism has been mounting, it is necessary to remember that Emomali is not the only player to have demonstrated such an act.

The Israeli player Baruch Shmailov faced a similar occurrence in both the matches he played. After winning his first match in the men’s under-145 lbs. weight class against Morocco’s Abderrahmane Boushita, the Israeli star faced a similar act where his opponent left the mat without shaking hands with him. As the series of controversies continued, Hifumi Abe, the player who left the Tajikistani in tears, went on to bag the Gold medal in the event. But despite this, there is a touch of heartbreak for Abe as well.

Abe siblings fail to repeat the Tokyo trend in Paris

Hifumi Abe and his younger brother Uta Abe are the ‘dream’ sibling pair in Judo. But despite their sensational achievements in the past, the Paris Olympics brought significant heartbreak to them as they failed to recreate what they did in the Tokyo Olympics.

Both siblings had won the Gold Medal on the same day in the Tokyo Olympics. They also won world championships in each of the two years since 2021. But, they will not be able to return home with the same feat this year. While Hifumi Abe continued the trend and won his second Olympic gold medal, defeating Willian Lima of Brazil his younger brother couldn’t replicate the same. He lost to Diyora Keldiyorova of Uzbekistan in the round of 16 in a shocking turn of events. 

Meanwhile, as the tournament unfolds further, it would be interesting to see if the sports corridors meet with more such controversies that can stir further furor.