Rejection of Olympic Games has hit waves in global sports • Israel's baseball team may actually benefit from the move

• Peter Kurtz and Tal Arel. "50% chance of winning a medal"

  Photo:

  Joseph Seliger

The announcement of postponing the Olympic Games in Tokyo caught the Olympic sport unprepared. However, there seem to be some, such as Israel's baseball team, for example, that this long rejection may actually do them good and make them a favorite for a medal in another year.

This past month, the Blue and White recruited Ian Kinsler, All-Star and one of the best defensive players in recent years, who retired this year at 37 from active play, but will continue for one more season to help Israel in the Olympic Games. If that is not enough, then two new baseball fields have started to be built in Israel, in Beit Shemesh and Raanana.

"Our goal is to reach over two thousand children who play baseball in Israel, and if we win a medal next year in Tokyo - we will do exactly what happened in Judo after they won the first medals," says Peter Kurtz, chairman of the Israeli Baseball Association.

Regarding the fact that only three Israelis are playing in the team, which prevents her from being exposed to the public in the country at the moment, Kurtz says: "As someone who manages this matter, I face a dilemma. On the one hand, I am told, 'You have come to the Olympic Games, To see Israelis, and if you win a medal - everyone will hug you and feel empowered. ”On the other hand, I have Jewish-American stars here with Israeli citizenship, the symbol on the shirt means a lot to them and they can bring us to a historic medal. I think if we win a medal it will just wash away the state, which in my opinion will affect the industry more than if only We will share Israelis and not bring a medal. "

Tal Arel, one of the team's three seniors and long-term international coaches, is currently training at the Wingate Institute in an attempt to keep his sports routine completely going awry. "Our goal is an Olympic medal. Strangely, getting to the Olympic Games was a harder task than winning a medal. The Olympic Games have six teams, so there's a 50% chance of winning the medal. After everything we've been through as a team, that's a realistic goal." .