10/20/2025
It’s fun writing victory posts - podium photos, smiles, and medals.
It’s tempting not to share when the team returns without any.
But that would ignore all the victories along the way.
Our national wheelchair basketball team just returned from the European Championships in Bosnia following months of intense training with Coach Lior Dror. This young team has grown tremendously, and their double-overtime battle against the Netherlands (who placed 5th at the Paris Olympics) showed just how close they are to the top. A win there would have put us in Europe’s Top 8.
But, alas, in the end they were pushed down from Division A to Division B — leaving us with no chance for the upcoming World Championships, and the Olympics feeling like a far away dream.
For now.
They finished on a strong note, beating the Bosnia and Herzegovina team 102–44, which just shows where we're destined to be.
And all of this happened as we watched the hostages being released - including Bar Kupershtein, son of our member Tal. Also, Asael Shabo, who is part of the national team, found out that the terrorist who murdered his mother and three brothers was going to be released as part of the deal. To stay focused and keep playing through that week was extraordinary.
In the end, we all know the Israel ParaSport Center isn’t just about medals (though we love those). It’s about community, perseverance, and showing up - again and again. And we are all champions for being the place these young athletes with disabilities keep showing up.
We’re proud of this team. We know they have what it takes. And we’ll keep going.
Coaching and Support Staff:
David Koren – Head of Delegation
Tal Ram – Team Manager
Lior Dror – Coach
Gadi Slovik – Assistant Coach
Topaz Loushy-Kay – Fitness Coach
Efrat Pinhasov – Psychologist
Dorrit Mashraki – Sport Therapist
Dror Even-Zahav – Technical Staff
Ilai Shalev – Analyst
Photos by Mansoor Ahmed/
