Israel sports delegation arrives in Saudi Arabia

An Israeli sports delegation arrived in Saudi Arabia yesterday to participate in the world weightlifting competition, Israeli media reported.

“For the first time, an Israeli delegation of weightlifters will be in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for the World Weightlifting Championships (WWC) which began on Sunday,” i24NEWS said.

the Israeli public broadcaster Kan reported that Saudi-hosted WWC 2023 will qualify Israel to reserve a ticket for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.

Three Israeli weightlifters will compete in three weight classes in the competition.

According to Kan, Israeli athletes are also expected to compete in Qatar in December.

Neither Saudi Arabia nor Qatar has diplomatic relations with Israel.

“It is really a great honour for us to have this opportunity. Ultimately, it’s a victory over politics,” Israeli Weightlifter David Litvinov told Kan.

Israeli Weightlifting Federation CEO Pavel Kolosovsky also stressed the importance of the event, saying: “It is a very important day for us and we also intend to make history during the competition.”

The US administration has exerted efforts in recent months to establish diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia.