Israeli judo world champion Sagi Muki attempts to 'ippon the coronavirus'
Israeli judoka Sagi Muki auctions personal items to fund respirators for the Laniado Medical Center in Netanya, where he was born.
By ZACHARY KEYSER, ALON EINHORNIsrael's Sagi Muki is one of 12 blue-and-white judokas who are set to compete at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam next weekend without their country’s flag by their names or on their backs due to the demand of the organizers.(photo credit: ASAF KLIGER)
Top Israeli judoka and current world champion Sagi Muki decided to do his part in the combat against the coronavirus, despite being unable to compete due to the viral spread.In light of the coronavirus pandemic and the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games that Muki was set to attend, he decided to auction off personal items and memorabilia to earn enough money to purchase and donate respirators to the Laniado Medical Center in Netanya, where Muki was born."I hope I can raise as much money as I can for the purpose of saving lives," Muki told Ynet. "When we are in hard times like this, the Israeli people and the Jewish nation are very strong."Among the items being auctioned, Muki is selling personal group trainings, autographed photos from the world championship and a personal video, thanking the donor.But Muki did not stop there. The most expensive item on his auction list involves the possibility of buying his framed judo outfit worn at the World Championship in Tokyo, including the belt worn and a personal dedication - for a cool NIS 185,000.Some items on the list were already sold out, such as a personal training session at Wingate Institute and personal belts worn at different international competitions.Muki's initiative, "Together We Could Ippon the Coronavirus," was created in cooperation with the Netanya Foundation and Yegev Medical Equipment, to ensure that the money raised will be able to fund the respirators.Muki recently made headlines for befriending Iranian judoka and previous world champion Saeid Mollaei after he requested asylum for fear of returning to the Islamic RepublicHead of the International Judo Federation (IJF) Marius Vizer told the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun that Mollaei feared he and his family would be subjected to violence by the Iranian state if he faced Muki, who went on to win the world championship on Wednesday in Tokyo. It is now suspected that to avoid this situation, Mollaei ended up losing on purpose to Belgian judoka Matthias Casse - athletes from Arab nations or Iran are told to pull out or refuse to compete with Israeli athletes in Olympics or other international competitions.Asked whether, at the time of the fight, he believed that Mollaei had lost on purpose, Muki was unsure.
In interviews given after he won the world title, Muki refused to speak of Mollaei’s situation and praised him as an outstanding human being and a top athlete.Now the two are best friends, according to Mollaei - showing Muki's true compassion and open mindedness.However, his next opponent, who will not receive the same kindness, is the coronavirus. To donate, visit .
