SANA’A – At the last moment of the match, Ali Khousrof, Yemen’s Judo champion, lost in his first Olympic match against Siccardi from Monaco.

Khousrof presented a very good performance and was about to win minutes before the end of the match. Members of the Yemeni community in London supported Khousrof.

Yemenis expected Khousrof to win and move to the second round; but unfortunately he received two warnings which enabled his foe to tie him in the first round.

During the countdown to the end of the match, Siccardi put pressure on Khousrof and won.

Yemenis were unhappy with Khousrof’s loss. They thought he would win and get either a gold or silver medal to honor Yemen.

Mohsen Khousrof, the athlete’s father, was saddened by his son’s loss in the elimination round. “It is normal that he lost because he has been participating in local and international championships for more than a year without a trainer,” he said.

“Khosrof participated in championships in Qatar and Uzbekistan without a trainer. Even in the training camp, he was alone and this made him lose,” he added.

Abdullah Bahian, undersecretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sport, said he wished Khousrof had won.

Bahian said Khousrof received proper training and attention from the ministry, he also said Khousrof has an Iraqi coach but he didn’t know if the coach accompanied him to London.

Bahian said it is difficult to win international championships because the participants are professionals. He wished Khousrof good luck.

The London Olympics opened on Friday with a historical opening ceremony with about 60,000 spectators in attendance.

Fatima Sulaiman, an athlete, Nabeel Al-Jarabi, a runner, Tamim Al-Kubati, a taekwondo athlete and Khousroof are the four Yemeni players to participate in the Olympics in London.

A delegation headed by Mu’amar Al-Aryani, the Yemeni Minister of Sport and Youth, accompanied the four players.