Israeli bowls players compete after ban revoked

After their participation at the World Indoor Bowls Championships appeared to be in doubt, Israeli bowler Itai Rigbi claims that his participation with playing partner Amnon Amar was “a victory for the sport.”

Last month, tournament organizers lifted a ban on Israeli players after a pro-Palestinian campaign.

On Friday, the competition’s opening day in Norfolk, Scotland’s Mark Renwick and Kieran Ward defeated Rigbi and Amar 2-0 in the pairs event.

Before the performance, there were protests outside the venue.

“Even though we lost today, I think it is a victory for all of us”, Rigbi said.

“It is a victory for sport, the values of the sport, the spirit of the sport. I believe the sport prevailed despite losing to far superior players than we did.

Naturally, I wasn’t very happy with it at first, but it quickly became a 48-hour rollercoaster that was fixed. I’m happy that the final choice was the right choice, and now that I’ve made my decision, everything’s fine.

The pair intends to continue playing in the singles competition against Daniel Alomin.

” The World Bowls Tour (WBT) gave us a warm welcome. Other players and I had a pleasant conversation. It’s both a very athletic atmosphere and an extremely competitive event. What happened outside is beyond my understanding, “Rigbi added.

” That’s how it should be. We compete, because we are players. We are doing what we are doing to advance the values of sport.

The trio could compete after “significant additional security measures” had been in place, according to the WBT.

Pro-Palestinian organizations have called for Israel’s athletes to be barred from competing in the 1977 Gleneagles Agreement, which was originally signed to exclude South Africa.

Israel strongly denies accusations of apartheid.

There have been instances of it having an impact on sport since Israel and Hamas’ conflict 15 months ago.

Israeli athletes have competed on the biggest stages of international football, including the Olympics and Wimbledon, but the Palestinian Football Association has pressed the world’s governing body to impose a ban on Israel.

Jason Parkinson, a member of the World Bowls Tour’s board, stated to BBC Sport that the time had been “challenging” but that everyone involved was there to play the sport.

“People are always welcome to voice their opinions.” And what we did, in my opinion, is the best course of action.