Wickside: A weekly column by Ahrela Weisberg

Asael Shavu: "Sport ignited the spark in me. Suddenly I felt equal among them all."

"I devoured every opportunity to represent the country abroad." "Before basketball I had no friends, and thanks to him I opened up."

Ahrela Weisberg

04/05/2022

Wednesday, 04 May 2022, 20:00

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Asael where a beacon peak (Photo: Contact Video Editing: Aviad Balili)

When Asael, who tonight (Wednesday) excitedly carries the words "and to the glory of the State of Israel" and moves on to lighting the beacon on the 74th Independence Day, few eyes will remain dry.

And he, despite his rugged appearance and sarcastic humor, will surely run through his mind the 20 difficult, complex and inspiring 20 years he has been through.

There is hardly an Israeli who does not know Shavu's story.

When he was nine years old, a terrorist broke into his childhood home in Itamar and opened fire on all the family members who were there.

Asahel's mother, the late Rachel, and three of his brothers - Neria (15), Zvika (12) and Avishai (5) - were murdered in front of his eyes, and he himself was seriously injured.

He came across the phrase "victory of the wind" on a daily basis, and he also appeared naturally among the reasons for choosing to carry a beacon at the age of 29. After a long rehabilitation, he became an outstanding athlete: Asael became one of the leading swimmers in Israel, and later converted to basketball. Israel and even played in the German league.

Last week he returned from the Euroleague tournament, where he appeared in the ILAN Ramat Gan uniform, and in addition, he coaches young people with disabilities and lectures to teenagers about dealing with the challenges in his life.

More on Walla!

Yair Azoulay: "It's so hard to grow up without a father"

To the full article

Shavu (second from right), with Danny Abdia and Shimon Mizrahi, at a ceremony held by Maccabi Tel Aviv last week (Photo: Official website, Maccabi Tel Aviv)

"As a child, before the attack, I was not a great athlete," he smiles in an interview with Walla!

sport.

. I was actually a good goalkeeper. I supported Betar Jerusalem, and to this day I support it.

" Spark too many places in my life, and it came in my first swimming competition, when I won a medal.

At first, I swam at all as part of the rehabilitation process.

Suddenly everyone picked me up, and I felt equal among everyone.

My disability was relatively mild, so I had no difficulty facing teens with more severe disabilities who competed there.

The coach was for me like a father and a mentor for me.

"Once I started flying for competitions abroad, I decided to turn sports into a profession."

"In swimming it was pretty easy to grasp the part. The leg has only five percent of the body weight, and I could work all the muscles and strengthen myself. It's not easy, but even as a kid, I was always strong in the arms, I loved to climb and do all sorts of other similar things. I swam more through my hands, not through my feet. "

"In Europe they are disconnected from what is happening here, and my story has put people in a different perspective."

With Leo Messi (Photo: Courtesy of the family)

More in the original "Wickside":

• For our own derby rules: The experiences of Israeli athletes from the biggest derbies in the world

• Gal Makal: "I felt turned off and depressed. I want to go home and play in Israel"

• White is Maccabi: Why did Maccabi Tel Aviv abandon the yellow color?

• Do not compromise on unsatisfactory sex: this will improve performance - with an exclusive discount

- And in basketball?

"It was more complicated. I already had control of the movement with the wheelchair, after all the time I worked with it in the hospital. But when it comes to the ball - I was less successful, and it will frustrate me a lot. I invested a lot in it. I think it took me four years just to get there. To a reasonable level. For the first two years I was just a defensive player. A year after I started playing, the national team coach took me to the European Championships, and said to me, 'I know you will save, and everything else is a bonus.'

"

There was a player in my box, with the same disability, and I was immediately told: 'You will also join the Israeli team like him.'

"Whenever I could represent the country abroad, I would devour the opportunity with both hands. I loved swimming and also basketball, and it gave me a lot of strength. That choice brought happiness into my life."

"These are two radically different disciplines. In swimming it's all about you, and in basketball you depend on a lot of other players and factors. The calm in the water is amazing, but it also made me think and turn my head, and sometimes it was hard. In basketball you are with guys. I have a lot of friends, and this is the first place I opened up and built a company around me. Beyond the common goal on the field, we went out to eat, went to games and tournaments, and it connected me to people I didn't know before.

"Swimming gave me a foundation of fitness and discipline. Then also to basketball.

A lot of players do not like to work alone, but I do, because I was used to it from swimming.

It was an advantage, and it helped me a lot to get better. "

"I think it took me four years just to get to a reasonable level. It was frustrating."

Sit on the field (Photo: IDF Spokesman)

- Then you moved to play in Hamburg, and lived far from the country, from home and family.

“Living abroad has made me realize that I have a lot more to work on.

I came as a rookie to Germany, alongside players at the highest levels.

My shooting was not one of the best, and in the last three years I have worked a lot to improve the offensive side, and today I am in a different place. "

"In Europe they are disconnected from what is happening here. They do not experience terrorism on a daily basis, do not live it or grow into these stories like us. So obviously the reactions are different, and my story gave people a different perspective. Suddenly they heard what it was like to live in the Middle East. The difficulty, one can continue to maintain optimism and human love.

"For me, the best example comes from an Iranian friend who played with me. He connected to what happened to me, and in general, to what is happening in the country. He loves our country. I always tried not only to represent Israel, but also its beautiful side. When I played in Germany, I invited "All the players on the team for Seder night, I taught them about the holiday and gave them to eat matzah. In my eyes, it is no less important than the sport itself."

"In the next decade, if all goes well, I plan to pursue a sporting career. Then? I wish I could find a role from which I can influence culture and sports."

• sport

• basketball

• Israel national basketball teams

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• Independence Day