Coming to amaze in Paris: the Israeli delegation to the Paralympic Games

The Israeli delegation to the Paralympic Games in Paris, which will start this Wednesday, will include 28 athletes, who will compete in 10 sports. Israeli women’s volleyball team player Lihya Ben-David and tennis player Adam Berdichevsky were chosen to carry the Israeli flag at the opening ceremony. The games will be broadcast on Sports 5 channels and will end on September 8.

Israel is ranked 15th in the world in the medal table in the Paralympic Games, which began in Rome 1960. From then until Tokyo 2020, the blue and white sportsmen and women won no less than 384 medals (129 gold, 125 silver and 130 bronze). Israel even hosted the games that took place in 1968.

In the last games, held in Tokyo, the Israeli delegation was made up of 33 athletes who competed in 11 sports. Israel finished the Games with 9 medals, of which 6 were gold, 2 silver and 1 bronze. 8 of the medals were won in swimming by Ami Dedown, Mark Maliar and Iyad Shelby. The rower Moran Samuel obtained a silver medal. Shelby, who finished the 2020 Tokyo Games with two gold medals, He did not go with the delegation to Paris because of the medical condition of his father, who accompanies him to the competitions. And the delegation hopes that he will join later.

Sports Minister Miki Zohar announced a significant increase inThe awards for winning medals: A gold medal will be worth a million shekels, a silver medal will lead to a grant of 700 thousand shekels and a bronze medal half a million shekels.

The male and female athletes in the Israeli delegation

hand bike
Amit Hasdai He was injured during the defensive wall operation in Kalkiliya and was left paralyzed on the right side of his body. After three and a half years of rehabilitation he continued to engage in riding and after seven years he switched to training on a hand bike. These will be his first Paralympic Games, at the 2022 World Championships he finished fifth and at the 2023 World Championships in sixth place. In the same year he finished fourth in the European Championship. Hasdai will compete in two events against the clock and a road race.
The competitions: September 4-5.

badminton
For the first time in the field of badminton, Israel will have two representatives. Nina Gorodetsky Coming to her second Olympics in a row, after securing the ticket to Paris following her ranking in 9th place in the world. Beside her he will make his debut in men Amir Levy.
The competitions: August 29 – September 2.

Bocce
Nadav Levy Will participate for the third time in his career in the Paralympic Games. Levy secured his place in Paris when he was ranked seventh in the world rankings. In 2023, Levy won the European Championship for the first time in his career. Levy will compete in the group stage and will try to qualify from it for the second time in his career for the quarter-final stage.

Bocce is a sport intended for people with severe physical disabilities. The game is similar to petanque, in which the players try to throw a ball as close as possible to a white target ball. At the end of the game, you get a score according to the order of how close the balls of each player or team are to the target ball.
The competitions: August 29 – September 1.

rowing
Moran Samuel will compete in the Paralympic Games for the third time in her career. In Tokyo 2020 she won the silver medal and in Rio 2016 she won the bronze medal. Samuel arrives in Paris, after winning the silver medal at the European Championships last year and will try to win a third medal in a row.

Shmulik Daniel will compete for the second time in single rowing. Dawn Milfelder andSaleh Shaheen The member of the Druze tribe will make their debut in a mixed doubles boat.
The competitions: August 30 – September 1.

Taekwondo
Assaf Yassour The competitor in the weight category up to 58 kg, arrives at the games in Paris as one of the outstanding candidates for winning a medal. Yassur, ranked first in the world, won twice in a row at the World Championships in Turkey 2021 and Mexico 2023 and won the European Championships in Serbia 2024.

Adnan Milad Competing in the up to 63 kg category, he qualified for the Paris Games after winning a ticket during the criterium competition. Milad won the silver medal at the 2023 European Games in the Netherlands and the bronze medal at the 2024 European Championships in Serbia.
The competitions: August 29-30.

Wheelchair tennis
Guy Sassoon Arrives in Paris, when he is ranked third in the world in the quad category (more severe disability). Sasson participated in Tokyo 2020 in the bicycle category (lighter disability), but following a worsening of his health, he began competing in the quad. The Israeli tennis player won the Roland Garros Grand Slam tournament in June and reached the final of the Australian Open tournament. In July 2024, he was eliminated in the semi-finals of the Wimbledon tournament, by world number 2 Nils Vink.

Israel will be represented in the fashion category Sergi Lisov The 20-year-old, making his Games debut, arrives in Paris ranked 17th in the world. Adam Berdichevsky Ranked 41st in the world, he will participate in the Paralympic Games for the third time in a row. He and his family are survivors of the massacre in Nir Yitzhak on the seventh of October. The two will compete in singles and cooperate in pairs.

A memorial spring Ranked 27th in the world, she will be the first female tennis player after a 16-year absence, since Beijing 2008, to represent Israel in the women’s competition.
The competitions: August 30- September 7.

goal ball
The Israeli team in goalball is considered one of the best in the world. During the current campaign, the team won a bronze medal at the World Championships in 2022, a silver medal at the European Championships in 2023 and a bronze medal at the European Championships in 2021.

The Israeli women’s team is coming to the Paralympic Games for the third time, the previous two times it was stopped in the quarterfinals. This time Israel will try to pass the hurdle and reach the podium. In the group stage, Israel will meet the national teams of Turkey, China and Brazil.
The team members are: Roni Ohion, Lehi Ben-David, Elham Mahmid Rozin, An earthy wave, Uri Mizrahi andNoa Malka.
The competitions: August 30 – September 5.

Kayak and canoe
Talia Eilat Competing in the 200 meter kayak event, she will make her debut at the Paralympic Games in Paris. Eilat finished in sixth place at the World Championships in Germany 2023 and won the bronze medal twice at the European Championships in Portugal 2023 and Hungary 2024.

Dr Iran Shapir The family medicine specialist received her ticket to the Paris 24 Games in July and will compete in the 200 meter canoe rowing event.
The competitions: September 6-8.

plaiting
the squint Julia Chernoy Compete for the third time in the Olympic Games. She will compete in the 50 meter freestyle medley in the prone position and in the medley bair rifle for 10 meters.

During the current campaign, Chernoy won10-meter air rifle mixed event at the World Championships in Peru in 2023 and a bronze medal at the World Championships in Abu Dhabi 2022, Along with winning the bronze medal at the World Championship in Peru in the heats The mixed 50 meter freestyle in a supine position. In June, she won silver medals in both divisions at the European Championships held in Spain.
the competitions: September 1-5.

swimming
The swimming quotas in the games are defined by handicap level (class) – from the most difficult (class 1) to the easiest (class 13). In some heats in the Games, several handicap levels participate, therefore some swimmers will swim with swimmers of a lower handicap level than them. All the swimmers in the delegation are members of Ilan Haifa, training under the national coach Yaakov Binanson.

Five swimmers represent Israel in the pool in Paris: Ami Dedown Competing in Class 4, he won two gold medals and a silver medal at the Tokyo 2020 Games. During the campaign he won 4 gold medals at the 2023 Great Britain World Championships and 3 more gold medals at the 2022 Portugal World Championships. In Paris he will compete in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, 150-meter individual medley and 50-meter breaststroke.

Marc Maliar Won Tokyo 2020, two gold medals and a bronze medal. Since then he has been reclassified (disability level classification), following which he moved from competing in class 7 to class 8. The competition became more difficult against competitors of a higher level.

Maliar continued to improve and during the campaign won a bronze medal at the 2022 Portugal World Championships and another bronze medal at the 2023 Great Britain World Championships. In addition, he won two gold medals and two bronze medals at the 2024 European Championships in Portugal. Maliar will compete in Paris in the following events: 100 meter freestyle, 400 meter freestyle, 100 meter backstroke and 200 meter individual medley.

his twin brother Ariel Maliar Class 4 competitor. Won the silver medal in the 50m freestyle at the 2024 European Championships in Portugal. In Paris he will compete in the 50-meter freestyle, 100-meter freestyle, 200-meter freestyle, and 50-meter backstroke. Veronika Girenko Competing in Class 3, she won the silver medal at the 2022 World Championships and the bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in her strong 50m breaststroke event. Girenko will compete in Paris in the 50 meter backstroke and 100 meter freestyle.

Iyad Shelbywho competes in class 1 (the most severe handicap), will definitely not participate in the games, as mentioned. In Tokyo 2020, Shelby finished with two gold medals. During the current campaign he won gold, silver and bronze medals at the 2024 European Championships in Portugal. In Paris, he is scheduled to compete in the 50-meter backstroke and 100-meter backstroke events.
the competitions: August 29 – September 7.