São Paulo – Competing for the United Arab Emirates, the judoka Sergiu Toma won the bronze medal in the men’s under 81 kg category this Tuesday (9) in Rio de Janeiro. It was the first medal for an Arab country in this Olympics.
According to information from the Arabian Business website, Toma is 29 years old and placed third after fighting Italy’s Matteo Marconcini. He is Moldavian-born and became an Emirati citizen three years ago.
“I want to say thank you to everyone who was close to me and ed me: people from my country, Moldova; people from the UAE; and my coach. This is a medal for the UAE, for sure,” he said immediately after winning. He said he had “always dreamt of giving the best results for this country because they always the team.”
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
