Olympics 2016: Judoka Avtar Singh loses to Popole Misenga; bows out of Rio Games

Rio de Janeiro: Indian judoka Avtar Singh crashed out of the Rio Olympics after losing to Refugee Olympic Team’s Popole Misenga in the second round of the Men’s 90 kg elimination Round of 32 on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_2948166” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Avtar Singh in action during his Men’s 90kg clash against Popole Misenga. AP[/caption] The 24-year-old from Punjab, who had clinched a gold at the South Asian Games in Guwahati earlier this year, failed to match up to Misenga, who is originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The 24-year-old Misenga gathered a point through Yoko, which is awarded for a throw that is ‘partially lacking’ in two of the three elements of an ippon: putting the opponent on his back, speed of throw, force of throw. Avtar, on the other hand, was penalised twice for non-combativity, where a player does not attack enough, intentionally stepping out of bounds, play too defensively or put a hand directly on the opponent’s face.