Judoka Ori Sasson claimed the bronze medal in the men's over-100 kilogram competition in Rio on Friday, defeating Cuban opponent Alex Garcia Mendoza and giving Israel its second Olympic medal in the 2016 Games. Sasson's victory followed that of judoka Yarden Gerbi's bronze medal win last Tuesday, in the 63 kilogram competition. "I defeated every doubt, every fear I ever had as an athlete. I did it -- I realized my dream. I'm so happy for Israel and for my family," Sasson, 25, said after his win. "I've worked so hard for this my whole life. I've been through so many crises, victories and defeats. This is a great moment I'll never forget. Like everything else in life -- once you set a goal you can make it happen." Holding on to his medal, a beaming Sasson told Israeli reporters, "I'm happy and proud. I can't really explain what this feels like. We've been working toward this for four years. I'm never letting this medal go. ... This illustrates my life, the path I traveled both as a person and as an athlete. I'm sure this day will be able to push me forward, toward the other achievements I want in my life." President Reuven Rivlin called Sasson on Saturday evening to congratulate him. "We are all so very proud of you. This victory attests to your willpower and ability. My grandson just told me he wants to be just like you when he grows up," Rivlin said. Sasson thanked the president, saying, "I feel privileged for having been given the opportunity to represent Israel." Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also called Sasson and praised the judoka's "incredible personal, national and international achievement. You showed everyone that if you want something enough, if you dare, you can make your dreams come true." Israeli Olympic Committee Director Gili Lustig said, "This is a tremendous achievement for Ori and for Israel. We're all very proud of him. He's truly a great guy." Yesh Atid MK Yoel Razvozov, head of the Knesset's Sports Lobby and himself a former judo champion, congratulated Sasson: "Thanks to him, the Israeli flag flew in the largest sports event in the world for a second time. Standing on the podium, Sasson proved that Israeli sports can take on any arena." Sasson's parents, Itzik and Varda were elated when their son called from the arena in Rio, to say, "This is for you, I love you. You made this happen." Speaking with reporters, Itzik Sasson described watching the final moments of Friday's match: "We were on pins and needles, counting down the seconds. Ori went above and beyond. He fought like a lion. He told me, 'Dad, I'm bringing home a medal,' and he did it. What an amazing day." Varda Sasson said, "I'm so happy for Ori, he realized his dream." Later on Friday evening, Sasson and Gerbi attended a gala dinner hosted by the International Judo Federation in Rio. Hugging her teammate, Gerbi said, "Ori's awesome. Look what we did here. This is such a great thing. We're crossing our fingers for [windsurfer] Maayan Davidovich, [triple jumper] Hanna Knyazyeva-Minenko, and the rest of the team. Hopefully, we can make Rio the greatest Olympics in Israel's history." Like Gerbi, Sasson stands to receive a special 250,000 shekel ($65,000) grant from the Israeli Olympic Committee for his win, which he will share with his coach, Oren Smadja, himself an Olympic bronze medalist at the 1992 Barcelona Games. 'The most embarrassing moment of the Olympics' Earlier Friday, Sasson defeated Egyptian judoka Islam El Shehaby, to progress to the men's over-100 kilogram quarter-finals. Shehaby refused to shake Sasson's hand after the match, drawing boos from the crowd and stirring a debate about intolerance at the Rio Games. Shehaby, 32, had been reportedly pressured by fans on social media not to show up for the match with his Israeli opponent at all, "because it would shame Islam." "Shaking the hand of your opponent is not an obligation written in the judo rules. It happens between friends and he's not my friend," Shehaby was quoted by L'Esprit du Judo magazine as saying. "I have no problem with Jewish people or any other religion or different beliefs. But for personal reasons, you can't ask me to shake the hand of anyone from this state, especially in front of the whole world," he said. Global media lambasted Shehaby for his poor sportsmanship. Globo, Brazil's leading news network, called the incident "the most embarrassing moment of the Rio Games," while British and American news outlets criticized the "mixing of sports and politics." The Associated Press called the incident "a major breach of judo etiquette." Egyptian media criticized both Shehaby's "humiliating defeat" and his decision to snub his Israeli opponent's gesture. Egyptian social media was critical of the incident as well, saying it was "disrespectful" of the Olympic Games. Commenting on the incident, Sasson said his coaches had warned him that Shehaby might refuse to shake his hand, even though the two have never competed against each other before. "I knew he would do it, so it wasn't a surprise for me. But this was his decision," Sasson said, adding that having been taught that the first principle of judo was to respect one's opponent, Shehaby's snub was "a little bit weird. But it doesn't matter to me because I'm a professional." During his conversation with Sasson, Netanyahu commented on the incident, saying, "You held your hand out it peace -- you represented the true and beautiful Israel. Obviously, we still have a lot of work to do to change the terrible propaganda working against us for decades." The International Olympic Committee opened a disciplinary probe into the incident, saying that "the Olympic spirit should be about building bridges and never about erecting walls." The International Judo Federation said that judokas are not obligated to shake hands, only to bow, but it would look into whether any action should be taken.
