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Summary A teenage Saudi judo fighter is preparing for the battle of her life and not only on the mat.
Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani will take on Puerto Ricos Melissa Mojica in a preliminary match early Friday that is likely to be over in record time.The real drama will be after that, in reaction to what shell be wearing in front of male spectators.Shahrkhani, one of the first two women ever to compete at the games for the conservative Gulf kingdom, will fight in a modified hijab under a deal worked out between Olympic officials, the international judo federation, and Saudi authorities.While the 18-year-old has many supporters in the region, the compromise has not been nearly enough to satisfy hard-liners who say she is dishonoring herself and her family by competing in front of men and in form fitting clothes. Several have told her not to jeopardize her place in the afterlife for a fleeting bit of fame on earth. Others have warned that she and her family could face ostracism when she goes home.She will definitely face difficulties (back home), Hashem Abdo Hashem, editor-in-chief of Saudis Arabic daily newspaper Okaz, told The Associated Press. The society here will look at her negatively.A more immediate worry for Shahrkhani comes in the form of Mojica, an 85-kilogram (187-pound) fighter who is the 24th ranked judo fighter in the world and is skilled at groundwork and aggressive grappling.Like every other athlete in the competition, Mojica holds a black belt and has honed her skills by training with men, while Shahrkhani is a virtual novice, a blue belt who has only been at the sport for two years. After blue comes brown, and then there are ten degrees of black.
