Israel's wheelchair basketball team advances to quarters; Weinberg and Kramer progress to semis of wheelchair tennis doubles tournament.
By ALLON SINAIshaziri 88(photo credit: )
Doron Shaziri claimed Israel's third medal of the Beijing Paralympics on Wednesday, finishing second in the 50 meters Free Rifle 3x40 competition to grab a silver.
The 41-year-old, who, as an IDF sniper, was injured 21 years ago from a land mine explosion, recorded a score of 1259.9 and added to his two silver medals from the Atlanta and Sydney Games and his two bronzes from the Athens Paralympics.
He was also the European champ in 2001 in the 60-meter rifle prone event.
President Shimon Peres called Shaziri and congratulated him on his sensational achievement.
"This is the fifth time you have won a medal and that is an extraordinary achievement by any standard," he said.
In other action, Keren Leibovitch came tantalizingly close to winning her ninth career Paralympics medal on Wednesday, finishing fourth in the 100m backstroke S8 competition.
Also yesterday, Israel's wheelchair basketball team advanced to the quarterfinals despite a 66-59 loss to Australia and, in wheelchair tennis, Shraga Weinberg and Boaz Kramer progressed to the semifinals of the doubles tournament.
The International Tennis Federation ranks Weinberg seventh and Kremer 17th
Quad wheelchair tennis, a subdivision of wheelchair tennis where both the legs and upper body are disabled, requires hard work. The two men train three times a week for three hours.
Weinberg has beaten both the first and second ranked Quad singles players in tournament play this year and is looking to build upon those victories by locking up a medal in Beijing in the duo's next match. The pair's coach, Kovi Wieener, noted, "I know their skill level very well and believe they could get a silver."
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