Amit Mdah. Photo: Ayelet: The Federation of Non-Olympic Sport in Israel.

An Israeli athlete won the bronze medal on Tuesday at a Thai boxing championship held in Bangkok, Thailand, after his rival, a Palestinian, refused to fight him, the UK’s Jewish Chronicle reported.

Amit Mdah, 16, defeated a competitor from Madagascar to reach the bronze medal quarter-finals fight in the World Youth Muaythai Championships, only to have the bout cancelled. The Palestinian athlete who declared he would not fight against Mdah — who hails from Sumei, an Arab town in the Galilee — may now face a penalty for refusing to compete, according to the report.

More than 2,000 athletes from around the world competed in the Thai boxing championships.