Canada’s goalball medal hopes in Paris come to an end in tough quarter-final loss to Israel

PARIS – The Canadian women’s goalball team has concluded their journey at the 2024 Paris Paralympic Games, following a hard-fought 5-1 defeat against Israel in the quarterfinals.

Amy Burk scored Canada’s sole goal in the match, while Israel’s Lihi Ben David led her team with four goals, and Or Mizrahi added another to secure the victory. With this win, Israel advances to the semifinals, where they will face China for a chance to compete in the final.

Israel took control early, establishing a 3-0 lead by halftime. Although Burk managed to narrow the gap with the first goal of the second half, Israel responded with two more goals, shutting down Canada’s hopes for a comeback.

Canada’s road to the quarterfinals saw them finishing second in Pool D. They opened the tournament with a commanding 10-0 victory over France, followed by a narrow 2-1 loss to Japan. A scoreless draw against Korea was enough to secure their spot in the quarterfinals, where they faced an Israeli team that had finished third in Pool C.

Even though Emma Reinke did not score in the quarterfinal, she remains Canada’s top scorer in the tournament with seven goals. Burk and Maryam Salehizadeh have each contributed two goals throughout the competition.

The Canadian team will return to action on September 4 in the Classification Playoff. Regardless of the outcome, they have already improved on their ninth-place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Games, showing significant progress and resilience.

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