Gilli Haimovitz takes gold yet again

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Kicking and punching, 16-year-old Gili Haimovitz proved just how proud he was to represent Israel. "It was the first time that there was Hatikva in Taekwondo overseas," said Haimovitz, who won first place in the 45 kilogram weight class at the European Junior taekwondo Championship in Trelleborg, Sweden, on Friday. "It was the first gold for Israel [in an international tournament]."

[source] The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition
Junior fighter defies odds in Sweden
Jun. 3, 2009
Benamin Spier , THE JERUSALEM POST

Haimovitz, a tenth grader from Gedera, returned to Israel early Tuesday morning with trophy in hand and immediately celebrated with family and friends waiting at the airport.

His win made a big statement for the Israeli team, which arrived at the tournament quietly after receiving violent threats.

The Web site for the event did not include any mention of Israeli participation and the players weren't officially added to the roster until the day of the event.

That did not stop Haimovitz from repeatedly asking to raise the volume of the Israeli national anthem and singing along during his victory ceremony.

Haimovitz beat fighters from Cyprus, Spain, Germany, and Russia to win a five-round tournament against 21 other competitors in his weight class. He scored the tournament winning and tie-breaking point during an overtime round by stopping his Russian opponent mid spin with a kick to the stomach.

Haimovitz and his coach Yechiam Sharabi said Hatikva was played at a lower volume than the national anthems of other winners at the tournament. The organizers of the event denied the difference in volume and said there was zero malice towards the Israel team.

"There was nothing against Israel," said the secretary general of the European Taekwondo Union Gerit Eissink. "They took gold for the first time and everyone was happy."

Additionally, Sharabi was unsettled when another Israeli fighter, Eylon Mason, was not rewarded with any points when he hit his opponent twice in the head.

Sweden is a familiar site for Israel-related sports controversy.

Israel played Sweden in a Davis Cup tennis tie in front of an empty stadium in March as the arena had been closed to the public after numerous security threats.

The Taekwondo team already cancelled an appearance at a competition in Sweden in February due to violent threats. Many threats were also made in the months leading up to last week's tournament, but the team still took the chance and traveled with 12 fighters, two coaches, and one referee.

The tournament included some 428 fighters aged between 14 and 17, representing 42 European countries and fighting in front of a crowd of about 1,000. In addition to Haimovitz's win, two other Israelis won fifth place in their weight class.

Haimovitz, who has five years of Taekwondo experience under his black belt, is a national champ four years in a row in his weight class and won first place at the Croatia Open in 2008.

He practices five days a week and is an elite member of the Israel National team.

"I just want to win," said Haimovitz about his thoughts during the fight. "I don't think anyone is better than me, so I won't let them beat me."

Haimovitz's family and friends surprised him at the airport with champagne and celebrations. His victory was especially inspiring for his two younger brothers who also practice Taekwondo.

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Additional report from proud mother Stephanie Haimovitz :

History has been made. Hatikvah was sung as the Israeli flag was raised for the first time ever at the any European Championships in Taekwondo, which was held in Trelleborg – Sweden 27 to 31 May 2009.

GILI HAIMOVITZ (16) the second son of Ron and Stephanie, the grandson of Bella and the late Micky Alswang from Netanya, and Freda and Gabi Haimovitz from Ra’anana, did the Israeli sports community and Israeli people proud.

478 of the top sportsmen in Europe from 41 different countries competed in the European Championships. Gili who competed in the under 45 kg category made history – he won the first round on technical merit, his second round he beat Spain, semi-final round Germany and in the finals he faced the reigning world champion from Russia. Gili’s last three fights were all won by golden point, which means that after three ending in a draw, a fourth round is fought and the first to score is the winner. Until theis victorious feat, Gili’s greatest achievement was winning the Croation Open in 2008.

Gili is a member of the “Golden Elite” – the most promising sportsmen in Taekwondo; he has been on the national team for the last four years. He is coached by Yehiam Sharabi, himself ranked fifth in the world, but never held any major international title.

Gili as well as his two younger brothers train with the Sharabi Martial Arts club in Nes Ziona and Gedera His older brother used to train before he joined the Israeli Defence Force.

The excitement in Israel after hearing of Gili’s amazing achievement was magnanimous, reporters from all the major Israeli newspapers reported with great enthusiasm, calls came from around the world congratulating  Gili and his family – “ We don’t think gili realizes the magnitude of what has happened, he is a modest, quiet, sensitive young man who will be overwhelmed by the sudden publicity” commented his over the moon parents.

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October 2008

Gili Haimovitz, second son of Ron and Stephanie and grandson of Bella and the late Micky Alswang, and Freda and Gabi Haimovitz, did it again – and this time in a very big way. He took gold.

On Thursday the 15th of October, the record number of 56 Israeli Taekwondo participants set off from Ben Gurion Airport for Zagreb in Croatia, where they competed amongst 700 participants from 33 countries in the Croatian Open 2008 – a level A competition.

Gili, who trains with Yehiam Sharabi (ranked 5 in the world) at the Sharabi Martial Arts center, was accompanied by 9 of his club mates and numerous Israeli National Team mates. Gili contested in the under 45kg category, and fought his way through four very difficult fights, until reaching the finals. Gili, an exceptionally shy and modest character, went into the finals with confidence unbecoming of him.  He had an overwhelming will to win, which paid off, with him winning his final fight, winning him the gold. 

Participating in competitive individual sports in Israel is for families in a high socio-economic standing. This is the reason why unfortunately, Israeli sportsmen failed to fulfill their dreams in international competitions. Not everyone can allow themselves the luxury of all the training, international competitions and training camps essential to ones training and success. [It's common knowledge, how other countries train, support and sponsor their top class athletes, enabling them to achieve their highest potential] What can we do if Israel does not have such luxuries? This is why most sportsmen turn to members of the pubic for monetary assistance.

Unfortunately, Gili finds himself in the same position. With this victory Gili is the number one candidate for the world championships this year, but it is compulsory for him to compete in at least three of the following international competitions to maintain his high standings: Swedish Open in February, Dutch Open in March, German and Belgian Open in April, Austrian Open in May, European Championships in May in Sweden and then the World Championships in October in Denmark.

Everyone had some explanation for the Israeli sportsmen and women not achieving the results that we had hoped for during the recent Olympic Games. We are now four years away from the 2012 London games, so isn’t it time to start preparing our sportsmen?

That's exactly the reason why all these competitions, especially the international ones, are so very important. Even though Gili is now only 15 years old, in four years he will be 19 and please G-d will be clad in Israeli colours proudly representing Israel as part of the Israel National Olympic team.
 
Gili was a member of the Israel National Cadet team for three years and has been a member of the Israel National Youth team for the past two years, also a member of the "Golden Hope" Team – the Most Outstanding and Promising Young Sportsmen in Israel.

Any individual or company who can assist Gili will be cherished and sanctified, because without assistance, none of his dreams will be able to be materialized.

Gilli winning the Israeli Championships 2008