Wojdan Ali Seraj Abdulrahim Shahrkhani is already having an impact back home in Saudi Arabia. Just days after the judo athlete became was one of the first women to compete in the Olympics for the Gulf kingdom, Saudi martial arts star Ali al-Atiq said he plans to create a women's team to compete in the 2016 Rio Olympics. Al-Atiq told the Saudi newspaper al-Sarq on Tuesday that he will coach and train the women. Al-Atiq also called Wojdan's debut a "historic achievement" even though she lost her only match in just over a minute to Puerto Rico's Melissa Mojica in a preliminary match Aug. 3. Saudi Arabia, which had never sent female athletes to the Olympics before, brought two to London on condition they adhere to the kingdom's Islamic traditions, including wearing a headscarf. Shahrkhani's debut was almost scuttled after the International Judo Federation said she couldn't do that for safety reasons. But a compromise allowed Shahrkhani to wear a modified headscarf. Hard-liners say the 18-year-old is dishonoring herself and her family by competing in front of men in form-fitting clothes. Several have told her not to jeopardize her place in the afterlife for a fleeting bit of fame. — Michael Casey in Dubai — Twitter http://twitter.com/mcasey1 ___ EDITOR'S NOTE — "Eyes on London" shows you the Olympics through the eyes of Associated Press journalists across the 2012 Olympic city and around the world. Follow them on Twitter where available with the handles listed after each item.
OLYMPIC RIPPLES
— Aug. 7 4:40 PM EDT

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