Israel Women's National Goalball Team

Israel's women's national goalball team competes internationally in a Paralympic sport for athletes with visual impairments. After quarterfinal exits at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020, the team reached the final at Paris 2024 and won silver.[2][4] The six-player Paris roster comprised Lihi Ben David, Elham Mahamid, Noa Malka, Gal Hamrani, Or Mizrahi, and Roni Ohayon.[3]

By 2016, Israel had fielded what was described as its first women's goalball team and was preparing for its Paralympic debut in Rio.[1][2] The squad trained under head coach Raz Shoham, with Ariel Puerta serving as assistant coach in the lead-up to the Games.[5] Captain Elham Mehameed, originally from Umm al-Faham and living in Jerusalem, had been diagnosed with retinal damage at four months old and described herself as colorblind and visually impaired.[6]

Before departing for Rio, the team won a preparatory tournament in Japan, defeating the host team 3–2 in the final of a field that also included a second Japanese team and South Korea.[5] The team had also placed sixth at the Nations Cup in Tokyo in 2016.[6] Its development was presented as an example of how years of sustained work with young athletes could produce competitors at a high international level.[6]

Goalball is played by athletes who are blind or have visual impairments.[7] All players wear eye coverings during competition to equalize visual conditions, locate the goal and their positions through tactile court markings, and track the ball through bells inside it. Spectators must remain quiet during active play so the athletes can hear the ball.[7]

Elham Mehameed also explained why eye coverings were used during training when teammates had different levels of sight. Describing the central role of sound, she said: "The ball has a bell inside and that is how we recognize it."[6]

Israel made its Paralympic debut at the Rio 2016 Games. The team finished fourth in its group after results that included a technical victory over Algeria and a draw with Japan, before Turkey eliminated it in the quarterfinal.[2]

At the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Israel recorded wins against Russia and Australia before again falling to Japan in the quarterfinal.[2] Paris 2024 was the team's third Paralympic appearance and the first in which it advanced beyond the quarterfinals.[2][4]

The Paris tournament began with an 8–4 win over Brazil, followed by a 5–4 loss to Turkey and a 6–1 loss to China.[4] Israel defeated Canada 5–1 in the quarterfinal and then beat China 2–1 in the semifinal, securing the first Paralympic goalball medal in the team's history.[4] Turkey won the final 8–3; Lihi Ben David scored all three Israeli goals, while Turkey's 7–2 halftime lead proved insurmountable.[8] The silver was Israel's first Paralympic medal in a team sport since 1988.[3]

In May 2017, Israel won bronze at an international tournament in Sweden. It recorded preliminary-round wins over Japan, Denmark, Finland, and the United States and drew with Greece before losing its semifinal to Russia 10–6. Israel then defeated Great Britain 5–0 in the bronze-medal match. Assistant coach Vered Avnaim said: "The girls played excellently and fought until the last moment."[9]

At the 2019 European Championship in Germany, Israel reached a major final for the first time in its history.[7] The team led Turkey 5–3 at halftime but ultimately lost 8–6 and took silver. Reaching the final secured automatic qualification for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics because Turkey had already qualified through the World Championship.[7] The squad comprised Lihi Ben David, Gal Hamrani, Roni Ohayon, Or Mizrahi, Karin Pichasov, and Noa Malka. Its players were drawn from the Education Center for the Blind and Beit Halochem Tel Aviv, and the team was coached by Raz Shoham with Vered Avnaim as assistant.[7][10]

In the lead-up to Paris, Israel won bronze at the 2021 European Championship and the 2022 World Championship, followed by silver at the 2023 European Championship.[4] A February 2023 report also credited Shoham with leading the team to its World Championship bronze in Portugal.[11]

Following the Paris Games, Israel again reached the European Championship final in Finland in 2025, losing 10–3 to Turkey and taking silver.[12] That squad combined experienced players Roni Ohayon and Elham Mahamid Rozin with four players recently promoted from the development team: Hadas Bar Nitzan, Shira Atia, Reut Artzi, and Salsabil Souad. Raz Shoham coached the team.[12]

Israel's six-woman Paris roster was captained by Gal Hamrani and comprised Lihi Ben David, Elham Mahamid, Noa Malka, Or Mizrahi, and Roni Ohayon.[3][4] The athletes were accompanied to Paris by two seeing-eye dogs, Rudy and Dylan, while Ben David served as one of Israel's flag bearers at the opening ceremony.[4] Hamrani was selected as a closing-ceremony flag bearer alongside swimmer Ami Dadaon.[13]

During the semifinal victory over China, Israeli players wore yellow ribbons in their hair in solidarity with hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.[14] Ben David told Sport5 that the situation in Israel remained on the team's minds throughout the tournament.[14] She played the final against Turkey despite having broken a finger in the semifinal.[15]

After the silver-medal result, Ben David said the team had worked hard over the previous three years through dozens of training sessions and was proud of what it had achieved.[4] She also declared that the team would return to the athletes' village and sing Israel's national anthem: "'Hatikvah' we'll sing out loud in the Olympic Village, nobody will silence us."[15] The Paris silver formed part of an Israeli delegation of 28 athletes that won 10 medals overall.[3]

The Paris silver represented both the team's first Paralympic goalball medal and Israel's first Paralympic team-sport medal since the men's volleyball team won silver in 1988.[3][4] It also capped a progression that included European bronze in 2021, World Championship bronze in 2022, and European silver in 2023, establishing the Paris result as the team's best performance at the Paralympic Games.[4]

At the Rio 2016 Paralympics, Algeria's women's goalball team did not appear for its scheduled match against Israel.[16] The International Paralympic Committee awarded Israel a 10–0 technical victory and three points, the same outcome given to the United States for a separate canceled match, and announced that it was investigating the circumstances.[16] Algerian officials attributed the absence to travel delays; the IPC stated at the time that it had not determined whether the no-show constituted a deliberate political protest.[16]