Israeli judo fighter waiting to see if he can compete in Morocco
Ori Sasson unable to board flight to Marrakesh as tournament organisers yet to confirm his participation
Andrew Sherwood is the Jewish News Sport and Community Editor
Israeli judo fighter Ori Sasson is waiting to find out if he will be allowed to take part in the Openweight World Championships in Morocco, as organisers have yet to provide a letter confirming his participation.
Coming less than two weeks after he wasn’t allowed to represent Israel in the UAE, the Olympic-bronze winning medallist was unable to board a flight to Marrakesh, as he needs the confirmation letter to obtain his travel visa.
Scheduled to compete in the Morrocan capital on Saturday, Israel Judo Association chairman Moshe Ponte, who is traveling with Sasson and men’s national team coach Oren Smadja, is confident the matter will be resolved once the President of the International Judo Federation, Marius Vizer, arrives later on Thursday.
Elsewhere, next year’s world championships in Baku, Azerbaijan are set to be postponed by several days and will not take place as initially scheduled on the week of Yom Kippur.
The Israel Judo Association have reportedly convinced the IJF to move the start of the championships to 20 September, allowing all of Israel’s representatives to take part in the event and hopefully pick up ranking points to qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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