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Israeli judoka wins gold at Abu Dhabi, hosts refuse to play his nations anthem or raise his flag.
So he sings it quietly himself.
Israel’s Tal Flicker had a perfect day at the prestigious international competition set in Abu Dhabi, up until he climbed up to the winner’s podium.
Link to tweet
When judoka Tal Flicker stood on the winner’s podium as the gold medalist of the 146 pounds division, he did it under the International Judo Federation’s flag, hung above those of Azerbaijan, and Russia and Georgia, and the music of the International Judo Federation’s anthem was played. In fact, the 25-year-old Flicker isn’t a citizen of the IJF, but lives in Herzliya, Israel, just about 1,500 miles west from Zayed Sports City, over the Saudi desert; if an Israeli could travel there. The United Arab Emirates carries a supposed ban on displaying Israeli symbols, such as its flag.
“Israel is my country,” Tal Flicker, world bronze medalist and now the number-one ranked 146 pounder Judoka, said on Israel’s Channel 2 News. “I’m proud to be Israeli. The anthem that they played was just background noise, I was singing ‘Ha’Tikvah’” (‘The Hope’, Israel’s national anthem).
Flicker said he made his mind up to sing the anthem anyway, while the IJF one played, the moment he won the final match. He went on Facebook and wrote: “Everyone in the world knows where we are from and what country we represent.”
https://www.bloodyelbow.com/2017/10/27/16554502/israeli-judoka-wins-gold-at-abu-dhabi-grand-slam-hosts-refuse-to-play-his-nations-anthem-mma
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