Indian judoka Avtar Singh crashed out of the Rio Olympics after losing to Misenga Popole of the Refugee Olympic Team in the second round of the men’s 90 kg elimination Round of 32 on Wednesday.
The 24-year-old from Punjab, who had clinched a gold at the South Asian Games in Guwahati early this year, failed to match up to Popole, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The 24-year-old Popole gathered a point through Yoko, which is awarded for a throw that is ‘partially lacking’ in two of the three elements of an ippon: putting the opponent on his back, speed of throw, force of throw.
Avtar, on the other hand, was penalised twice for non-combativity, where a player does not attack enough, intentionally stepping out of bounds, plays too defensively or puts a hand directly on the opponent’s face.