THE JUDO hall is already a microcosm of these Olympics. It was heavy with pathos after the Greek tragedy of a lovers’ tiff and a double attempted suicide involving one of the host nation’s champion judokas. It is also the centre of yet another protest by an Iranian athlete to use the Games to make his points against an Israeli — a direct breach of the Olympic oath.

It had two wonderfully composed Japanese champions, a man and a woman, emulating their first-day triumphs of Sydney four years ago. And it had an Englishman, Craig Fallon, whose world ranking suggested he might lift Great Britain and get us off to a medal start. Alas, poor Fallon: he fell to an 18-year-old Greek who was given the benefit of the judges’ decisions.

Fighting in the 60kg division in which he was was expected to do so well, Fallon, 21, won silver in Osaka at the world championships last year and is so dedicated that he missed the wedding of his sister, who he felt sure would understand the obsession because she had been a competitor herself.

He was in command of his contest against Revazi Zinteridis, and three times his coach, Udo Quellmalz, jumped out of his chair calling for an ippon, which would have won the bout. Three times the judges disagreed, and with just four seconds to go, Fallon seemed to lose concentration.

He drew the Greek youth onto him and was thrown onto his back where, bemused, distraught and defeated, the Englishman lay with his legs akimbo, his hands to his head. Speaking afterwards, an angry Fallon was in no doubt as to the unfairness of the judges’ decision. “I knew it was going to be a bit biased,” he said. “It always is when you are up against a home fighter.

“Maybe if it hadn’t been in Greece the fight would have gone the other way. There were a few times when I thought ippon would have been called in my favour, but it’s up to the referees on the day.

“I’m only 21, and in four years’ time I may even be peaking. I’ll get more experience over the next four years and I’ll be back.”

Returning to the Greek tragedy, a week ago Eleni Ioannou, a 20-year-old judo player, either fell or jumped off a third-floor balcony after a tiff that apparently grew out of a computer game. She hit the driveway below and was critical in hospital with head and body fractures.

The next day, after being interviewed by police, her distraught boyfriend, Giorgos Chrisostomides, 24, attempted to jump from the balcony. “I’m going to find Eleni,” he said. Friends stopped him, but during a quiet meal the next day he suddenly ran across the room and plunged over the balcony. He, too, was soon on life support.

After this sad lovers’ tale, we wondered how the judo hall could restore a sense of sporting normality. But the show went on, and animated supporters from Asia and Europe seemed oblivious to the pall hanging over the arena. The Japanese, especially, restored “normal” service. Tadahiro Nomura made history by becoming the first male to win the same Olympic gold three times in a row, and Ryoko Tani (nee Tamura) is now the only woman to have won the under-48kg title twice.

Nomura was not quite the majestic athlete he was in the past, but still knew enough, still remained calm and waited for his chance to narrowly, but assuredly, beat the Georgian Nestor Khergiani in his final, the 60kg division.

But where Kate Howey — who has won a bronze and a silver and on the strength of that was the GB flag-bearer here — remains a hope for the nation, Arash Miresmaeili, also his country’s flag-bearer on Friday, played a different kind of game afterwards.

The Iranian is the world champion at his weight, but when he drew Ehud Vaks from Israel for today’s 66kg division, he declared: “I have trained for months and I am in good shape, but in sympathy with the people of Palestine who are suffering, I refuse to fight an Israeli.”

Miresmaeili, 23, basked yesterday in the support of Islamic followers who called to thank him. The head of the Iran Olympic delegation, Nassrollah Sajadi, pronounced that he should be awarded one billion rail — worth $115,000 — as if he had won gold.

Last night, after a meeting between the head of Iran’s Olympic committee and its judo federation, it was suggested that Miresmaeili would fight. Israel’s stance was that they would fight any opponent, of any origin.