Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul. Photo: YouTube screenshot.

JNS.org – Israeli judoka Tohar Butbul won Israel’s second bronze medal at Germany’s Dusseldorf Grand Slam competition on Saturday, after his Iranian opponent intentionally gained weight to avoid competing with him.

Iranian judoka Mohammad Mahdi Brimanloo was forced to withdraw after suddenly gaining weight that placed him outside the under-73 kilogram category.

Baruch Shmailov won Israel’s first bronze medal in the under-66kg competition on Friday.

As a result of the Iranian’s disqualification, Butbul automatically advanced to the final 16, going on to win the bronze medal.

Just over a week ago, the United World Wrestling organization banned Iranian athlete Alireza Karimi from competition for six months for intentionally losing to a Russian competitor in the quarter final of the U-23 World Championship in Poland last November, so as not to have to compete against Israeli opponent Uri Kalashnikov. Karimi’s coach, Hamidreza Jamshidi, was banned for two years.