Israeli Paralympic competitor
Shaaban Sakhafi
Born 1961 (1961 ) Died 1985 (aged 23–24)
Shaaban Sakhafi (Hebrew : שעבן סקחפי , Arabic : شعبان سكحفي ; 1961 - 11 July 1985) was an Israeli Paralympic wheelchair basketball player and a sportsman in disabled sports . He was the first Arab to represent Israel in the Paralympic Games , in 1980.
Career
At the 1975 national championship for para swimming, Sakhafi won three medals: gold in the 50 metre backstroke event, gold in the 50 metre front crawl event and a silver medal in the 50 metre breaststroke event.[ 1]
Sakhafi was a member of Israel Sports Center for the Disabled and in 1979 won the first snooker tournament held at the center.[ 2]
At the 1979 national championship for para table tennis , he ranked first place for disability class 2.[ 3]
Sakhafi was a member of Israel men's national wheelchair basketball team and took part in the basketball tournaments at the 1980 Summer Paralympics and the 1984 Summer Paralympics . In 1980, the Israeli team ranked first and achieved the gold medal.
On 11 July 1985 Sakhafi was electrocuted in his work place and died at the age of 24.[ 4] ILAN basketball team of Jaffa was renamed ILAN Shaaban Jaffa in his memory.[ 5]
References
^ "אברהם תירוש, בחלק האחרון באליפות השחיה: 3 שיאי עולם לנכים ושבעה שיאים ישראלים, מעריב, 8 בספטמבר 1975" . JPress (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-12-26 .^ "3 משחקי כדור חדשים לנכים, מעריב, 5 בינואר 1979" . JPress (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-12-26 .^ "אהרון שאטל - אלוף הנכים בטניס שולחן, מעריב, 18 בדצמבר 1979" . JPress (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-12-26 .^ "אברהם תשובה, נהרג כדורסלן נבחרת הנכים, חדשות, 12 ביולי 1985" . JPress (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-12-26 .^ "אברהם תשובה, איל"ן שעבן יפו - אלופת הנכים, מעריב, 22 ביוני 1986" . JPress (in Hebrew). Retrieved 2023-12-26 .
