Eight Israeli athletes took part in the first day of the Rio Games, with tennis player Dudi Sela posting the best result. Sela, ranked 65th in the world, defeated Damir Džumhur of Bosnia and Herzegovina in two sets: 4:6 4:6.
Sela’s second round opponent will either be Belgian David Goffen (ranked 13th in the world) or Australian Sam Groth (168th).
Earlier in the day, senior gymnast Alex Shatilov scored lower than he had hoped in the men’s horizontal bar and the floor exercise, thus failing to pass the qualifying round.
Israel’s swimmers posted some good, some not-so-good times but failed to make the next round. Gal Nevo clocked in at 4:18.29 in the Men’s 400m individual medley (19th); Amit Ivry clocked a 59.42 time in the 100 meter butterfly race (27th); and the Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay, making a first appearance in the Olympics, finished with a time of 3:14.97 (8th).
In Judo, Shira Rishoni, a first time Olympian and not one of the country’s medal hopefuls, was disappointed after being disqualified on a technical foul in her women’s 48kg matchup with Ukrainian Maryna Cherniak. Judges ruled that Rishoni touched Cherniak’s leg.
Rhythmic gymnast Neta Rivkin led the Israeli delegation in the Parade of Nations at the opening ceremonies of the Rio Games. She was one of five female gymnasts to be chosen as the flag-bearers for their countries. Guatemala, Romania, Switzerland and Canada also sent a gymnast out in front.
The Rio Olympiad is Rivkin’s third Olympic Games.
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