Shay-Oren Smadja is an Israeli judo coach and former competitive judoka. Smadja won an Olympic bronze medal in 1992 Summer Olympics, making him the first Israeli male to win an Olympic medal, and the second Israeli overall after Yael Arad who won silver in judo the day before.
Amar Benikhlef is an Algerian judoka who competed in the middleweight division. He won the silver medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. In September 2021, Benikhlef was suspended for 10 years, until July 2031.
Boycotts of Israel in sports refer to various disqualifications and denial of Israeli athletes. As part of a more or less systematic boycott of Israel, Israeli athletes and teams have been barred from some competitions. In many international competitions, where Israel does take part, such as the Olympic Games, some Arab and Muslim competitors avoid competing against Israelis. Some countries, most notably Iran, even compel their athletes not to compete against Israelis or in Israel.
Judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo featured around 393, 128 judoka competing in 15 events, seven each for both men and women as well as a new mixed team event. The 2020 Summer Olympics were postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the judo competitions were held in July 2021 at Nippon Budokan.
Sagi Aharon Muki is an Israeli half-middleweight judoka. Muki is the 2019 World Champion. He also won the 2015 and 2018 European championships.
Or "Ori" Sasson is a retired Israeli Olympic judoka. He won a bronze medal in the +100 kg category at the 2016 Summer Olympics and another one at the 2020 Summer Olympics. He is the second of two Israelis to win two Olympic medals.
Shira Rishony is an Israeli Olympic lightweight judoka. She competed at U48 kg. She competed for Israel at the 2016 Summer Olympics and at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Saeid Mollaei was born on January 5, 1992, in Tehran to ethnic Azerbaijani parents originally from Khoy. In 2001, at the age of 10, he entered the Persian Gulf Judo School by Dr. Mehrdad Hassanzadeh, a judo instructor. Iranian authorities ordered Mollaei to intentionally lose in the semi-final at the Tokyo 2019 World Championships, so as to avoid a potential match in the finals against Israeli 2019 world champion Sagi Muki. In August 2019, he moved to Europe with a two-year visa from Germany, saying he was afraid to return to Iran after exposing and criticizing its pressure on him to deliberately lose in the World Championships. In December 2019, he became a citizen of Mongolia. He dedicated his 2020 Olympic medal to Mongolia and Mongol People and to Israel. From May 2022 on, Mollaei represents Azerbaijan.
Chamara Repiyallage also known as Chamara Dharmawardana is a Sri Lankan judoka. He is also attached with Sri Lanka Air Force.
Daria Hennadiyivna Bilodid is a Ukrainian judoka. She is the 2019 World and the 2019 European gold medalist in the 48 kg division. In 2021, she won one of the bronze medals in the women's 48 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Baruch Shmailov is an Israeli judoka. He competes in the under 66 kg weight category, and won a gold medal in the 2022 World Masters in Jerusalem. Shmailov also won a bronze in the 2017 World Masters, as well as a silver at the 2018 World Masters. As of December 2022, Shmailov is ranked #3 in -66 kg weight category. He competed for Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics, finishing in fifth place.
Tohar Butbul is an Israeli judoka. He competes in the under 73 kg weight category, where he won silver medals at the 2019 Judo World Masters and the 2021 European Championships, and won bronze medals in the 2017 Paris Grand Slam and 2017 Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. As of March 2018 he was ranked #9 in the world in the U73 kg division.
Algeria competed at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Originally scheduled to take place in the summer of 2020, the Games were postponed to 23 July to 8 August 2021, because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Since the nation's debut in 1964, Algerian athletes have appeared in every edition of the Summer Olympic Games, with the exception of the 1976 Summer Olympics in Montreal because of the African boycott. Unlike Algeria's previous successes in the Summer Olympics, they failed to secure a single medal.
The Mixed team competition in judo at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo was held on 31 July 2021 at the Nippon Budokan.
Tornike Tsjakadoea is a Dutch judoka. He represented the Netherlands at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan. He competed at the World Judo Championships in 2018, 2019 and 2021.
Manuel Lombardo is an Italian judoka. He is a two-time silver medalist at the World Judo Championships. He is also a gold medalist at both the Mediterranean Games and the European Judo Championships.
Elisavet Teltsidou is a Greek judoka. In 2021, she competed in the women's 70 kg event at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan.
Fethi Nourine is an Algerian judoka, who has competed in the under 73 kg weight category, and won three African Judo Championships. Nourine has been suspended by the International Judo Federation until July 2031 for refusing to fight an Israeli athlete at the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Mohamed Abdalarasool is a Sudanese judoka who competes in the under 73 kg (161 lb) category.
Boubekeur Rebahi is an Algerian, male Judo player, who played in both local and international championships. He played in Tunisia, Oran, Morocco and Belgium. He weighs 66 kg. It should be remembered that Algeria was tagged the most successful nation for African Judo Championships in 2022. Prior to that in 2021, Algerian Judo player named Fethi Nourine was banned for 10 years from competition by the International Judo Federation with his coach, Amar Benikhlef receiving 10 years ban, as well when they withdrew from facing an Israeli opponent in the second round of men's competition at the Boudakan. The duo revealed that they pulled out from the competition in support for the Palestinians.
