Tohar Butbul could only shake his head in resignation after the Israeli judo star's first two potential opponents dropped out of the Tokyo Olympics shortly before they would have faced him.
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"These are things that sometimes occur in judo, so it wasn't that odd for me," Butbul said through a translator.
"I just had to wait, stay focused and wait for my first chance."
Algeria's Fetih Nourine withdrew from the Games on Saturday when he learned he would meet Butbul if he advanced to the second round Monday, citing his support for Palestinians for his decision.
On Monday, Sudan's Mohamed Abdalrasool didn't show up to face Butbul in their round of 32 bout despite weighing in earlier.
Abdalrasool didn't make a public statement about his decision, but Butbul said his team was told Abdalrasool had a shoulder injury - a reason that didn't exactly convince Butbul or the Israeli team.
The International Judo Federation (IJF) swiftly suspended Nourine and his coach but didn't comment on Abdalrasool's withdrawal after sharply criticising Nourine, who also quit the World Judo Championships in 2019 right before he was scheduled to face Butbul at the Budokan, the site of the Tokyo Olympics.
Butbul is ranked seventh in the world at lightweight. He likely would have manhandled Nourine, who is ranked 31st, or Abdalrasool, who is 469th and only got into the Olympics through a late invitation.
With an unimpeded path to the round of 16, Butbul then advanced to the quarter-finals before back-to-back defeats ended his first Olympics in seventh place.
"I came with a pure aim to win a medal, and it's very hard for me to bear that I didn't fulfill my own expectations," Butbul said.
"I wasn't precise in executing my plan, but in judo sometimes there is a gap between how you plan and what is in reality."
Israel have won 10 medals, half of them in judo, in their Olympic history.
Australian Associated Press
