Israel wins Paralympic goalball semifinal, guaranteeing a medal

Israel’s women’s goalball team beats China 2-1 in the semifinal at the 2024 Paris Paralympics, guaranteeing them a medal.

The six-woman team will face either Brazil or Turkey in the final tomorrow, and emerge with either gold or silver.

Either way, it will be the best-ever Paralympic finish for the team, which also competed in Rio and Tokyo but never before qualified for a medal match.

Goalball is a team sport played by those with visual impairments, in which athletes throw and attempt to block a ball with bells embedded inside.

Earlier today, swimmer Mark Malyar finished 12th overall in the heats of the men’s 400m freestyle S8 disability category, and didn’t advance to the final. Malyar, who has already won a bronze in Paris, has one race left to go on Friday.

And handcyclist Amit Hasdai finished fourth in the men’s H2 individual time trial event, missing out on the podium. Hasdai, who was seriously wounded during his IDF service in 2002, will also compete in tomorrow’s men’s road race.