Team Israel Judoka Sagi Muki lost his match in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games on Tuesday morning and will not progress further in the tournament.
Muki won the 2019 World Champions for judo, and was one of Israel's strongest contenders for winning an Olympic medal at the Tokyo 2020 games.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett spoke to the 25-year-old athlete after his elimination and called him "a great pride" for Israel.
"What you are teaching us all is that whoever wants victories must also know how to get up from failures along the way," Bennett told him during the phone conversation.
"I want to tell you how much I appreciate you and the spirit you bring, to the public in general and to the youth in Israel in particular."Speaking about his loss on Tuesday afternoon, Muki said that he "wanted to get as far as possible," and that "this day was a learning curve.He also commented on Iranian born judoka Saeid Mollaei's silver medal which he won competing under the Mongolian flag, saying that "he is a very close friend of mine and I know what he went through to get here. He deserves it. He is inspiring.
Mollaei was granted refugee status by Germany in 2019 after fleeing Iran for refusing to forfeit his match against Muki, after he was instructed to do so due to Muki's Israeli nationality.
He received citizenship in Mongolia shortly afterwards, and was chosen to compete under their flag in the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.