Voice of Jewish Sport

THIS TIME last week, Eli Ochana had high hopes of reaching the semi-finals of the U19 European Championships. Two games later and the Israelis aren’t only still in search of their first win, they’re yet to claim a point, and for good measure are still awaiting their first goal. Opening up against one of the tournament favourites Portugal was always going to be tough and their 3-0 defeat wasn’t exactly unexpected. Tuesday’s loss by the same scoreline to Austria was a lot more deflating, but all is still not lost. If they can manage to avoid defeat to the hosts Hungary on Friday – who have an ever worse record than them after two games – they’ll secure third spot in the table which will be good enough to see them qualify for next year’s U20 World Cup in New Zealand. Despite Ochana’s pre-tournament’s predictions, that would represent progress.

SWIMMER Adam Warner continues to make more than a splash in the water, his most recent outing being at the annual Brighton pier to pier race at the weekend. Finishing joint-second thanks to a last-gasp effort in the final 100m, he said: “I was very happy with my result, as it is hard to do all this racing weekend after weekend and also by myself. To still achieve podium results keeps my sponsors happy and also keeps me happy that I am still performing.” Next up for the Maccabiah star are two more races before he takes a break – at the London region open water championships, followed by the ASA National Open Water Championships. Both will see him racing against GB swimmers.

WITH THE new season fast approaching, the release of the teams across the various divisions has seen us bid farewell to some clubs, while also allowing us to welcome others. Long-time members Chigwell have gone, as have the likes of Shirley Park and London Haroldeans. They have been replaced by the quite-brilliantly named Real SoSoBad and Shacharit Donetsk.