Gold medal for Nadav Levy at the European Championships in Bochia, Bat-El Breitman HaCohen won bronze

2023-08-12 19:34:12

Paralympic athlete Nadav Levy won the gold medal today (Saturday) at the European Championships in Boccia held in the Netherlands. Bethel Breitman HaCohen won the bronze medal. Levy (class bc2) ranked 14th in the world defeated Robert Majic from Slovakia (11th in the world) in the final match with a score of 4:5 at the end of a game full of ups and downs.

Levy opened the championship with a 3:8 victory over the Croatian Wagner, in the second group stage game he defeated the Dutch Decker 0:9, in the quarter-finals he defeated the Dutch Bernard Mathias 1:4 and in the semi-finals he defeated the Portuguese David Arrojo 3:4. Levy, who brought bocce to Israel, competed twice in the Paralympic Games.

Nadav Levy at the European Championship in Bochia (Photo: Lilac Weiss Rosenberg)

Despite the rain that fell in the morning hours, the final match of the European Championship took place as planned under the sky in a central location in the city of Rotterdam, with the aim of revealing the unique Paralympic sport to the general public.

Breitman HaCohen (class bc1), ranked 24th in the world and seventh in the tournament, won the fight for the bronze medal over Dora Basic from Croatia, ranked first in the tournament, with a score of 3:4. She started the Spanish Akita Championship (ranked 2nd in the tournament and 7th in the world) with a 1:4 victory. In the second match of the group stage, the French woman beat Aubert 1:5. In the quarter-finals, they defeated Particcio from Portugal 0:8 and in the semi-finals they lost to Kaza from Poland 3:2.

Bethel Breitman officiating at the European Championship in Bochia (Photo: Lilac Weiss Rosenberg)

Boccia is a game of strategy and precision that was originally designed for people with cerebral palsy, but over the years athletes with other disabilities, such as those that affect motor skills, have also joined the industry.

The game is played on a flat surface, where the players must throw or roll colored balls as close as possible to the white target ball, known as GK. The player who has the most balls at the end of the game is the winner.

Bocce player Nadav Levy (with the ball), at the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016 (photo: courtesy of the Association for Disabled Sports)

The bocce balls are small and relatively soft leather balls, which allow a comfortable grip and good control of the shot. The branch does not require physical effort or strength, so the main measure of the player’s success is concentration, precision and skill.