The first Saudi Arabian woman to compete in the Olympic Games lost her first round match in the judo competition on Friday.
Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani – wearing a tight-fitting black cap – was thrown easily by Puerto Rican judoka Melissa Mojica in 1 minute, 22 seconds.
In a slow-moving fight Shahrkhani looked tentative and unwilling to grab Mojica’s uniform.
Mojica flipped Shahrkhani onto her back for a match-ending throw.
Also on Friday morning, Qatar’s first female competitor, sprinter Noor Al-Malki, pulled up early in her 100m race with a suspected hamstring injury.
Shaherkani is one of only two Saudi women to travel to London after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) lobbied the Gulf kingdom to end its refusal to send women to the Games.
But she had said she would only compete if she was allowed to wear the hijab, and judo officials initially refused, saying it would be dangerous.
A Saudi National Olympic Committee spokeswoman said the committee, the IOC and the International Judo Federation (IJF) managed to later agree on an acceptable form for the headscarf.
Teenage 800m runner Sarah Attar is Saudi Arabia’s other female competitor in the London Olympics.
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