Guy Sasson celebrates with an Israeli flag after winning bronze in the Paris 2024 Paralympics – Wheelchair Tennis – Men’s Quad Singles match on Sept. 5, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
Israeli para-athlete Guy Sasson and his Dutch partner Niels Vink won the Wimbledon quad wheelchair doubles tournament on Saturday, and in his post-game remarks, Sasson quoted the Torah and stated in Hebrew “Am Israel Chai” (“Long Live Israel”).
The duo beat South African Donald Ramphadi and Gregory Slade of Great Britain, sealing a 6-0, 6-2 victory in one hour and five minutes. Saturday’s win was Sasson’s first Wimbledon doubles victory. He and Vink won in the French Open (Roland-Garros) earlier this summer, and Sasson, 45, won the Australian Open in 2023 with Ramphadi.
Speaking live on BBC following the match, Sasson cited a Torah verse that references Operation Rising Lion, the name given to Israel’s large-scale military operation in Iran. The Olympic medalist said: “It’s a special sentence in Hebrew from the Bible: ‘The people shall rise as a great lion, and lift themself like as a young lion.’ Am Israel Chai. So, thank you very much and be strong.”
The quote is from the Book of Numbers 23:24. The full verse reads: “Behold, the people shall rise up as a great lion, and lift up himself as a young lion: He shall not lie down until he eat of the prey, And drink the blood of the slain.”
Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu wrote part of the Torah verse on a note that he placed in Jerusalem’s Western Wall in June mere hours before the launch of Operation Rising Lion.
Sasson is currently ranked 3rd in the world in singles and doubles. He is paralyzed from the knees down following a snowboarding accident in France in 2015. He won a bronze medal at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games.
Saturday’s win gave Vink his 10th Quad Grand Slam title. “I’m very happy to win our first Wimbledon title together – this is my fourth straight Wimbledon title in a row, so it’s very special for me,” Vink said.
“It’s an amazing tournament and it’s a great feeling to be Wimbledon champion with Niels,” Sasson noted. “We started playing together this year. Being here at Wimbledon as the champions – I feel honored and lucky to be able to do it.”
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Author: Shiryn Ghermezian
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