ARTS AND CULTURE

Sagi Muki

Judoka

Israeli prowess in the martial arts has a new face: 2019 World Judo champion Sagi Aharon Muki, a native of Netanya. Muki dropped to his knees and burst into tears after defeating Belgian judoka Matthias Casse to win the gold in the under-81 kilogram weight class at the championship finals in Tokyo, and later sang along to Israel’s national anthem “Hatikvah” as it was played for the first time at the competition. In an interview with the Algemeiner, Muki spoke about the prejudice he’d encountered in his career, as when Egyptian opponent Mohamed Abdelaal refused to bow or shake his hand after losing to him. “I’m very proud of where I am from,” he said, as he pledged to return to Tokyo in 2020 to win gold for Israel in the Olympics. (Photo: Naoki Nishimura / AFLO SPORT / Reuters)