Roi Dror, the Israeli Olympic archer from Kfar Saba’s Kochav HaSharon club, won back the men’s recurve national title on Friday at the Summer 2026 Israeli Championships at Wingate Institute. He beat reigning champion Itay Shani of Maccabi Tel Aviv 7-3 in the final, reversing last year’s dramatic semifinal loss to Shani and securing the Yaron Tal Trophy.
The final swung back and forth early. Dror won the opening set, Shani answered in the second, the third ended tied, and Dror took the fourth to move ahead 5-3. Shani then needed a perfect end to save the title, but his first arrow landed in the seven ring, effectively ending the match. His remaining arrows scored 10 and 9, not enough to recover.
Dror reached the final by defeating Harel Mor of Maccabi Tel Aviv 6-4 in the semifinal, while Shani advanced with a 7-3 win over Uri Rozmarin Berlad of Maccabi Keshatot HaMea Ha21. Mor later beat Berlad 6-0 for the bronze medal. Dror said, “It was a challenging day and I am happy I managed to finish it as Israeli champion. I am starting a long journey, ending with the 2027 World Championships, where I am aiming for a medal.”
In the women’s recurve final, Michaela Moshe of Maccabi Tel Aviv controlled the match from start to finish and defeated her clubmate Noa Tal 7-1 to successfully defend her Israeli title. Noga Polimer of Keshetey Maccabi Rishon took third place. Moshe said archery is ultimately about competing against oneself, and said the result boosts her confidence ahead of the World Cup in Madrid in July, which she called her main target for the year.
About 120 archers took part, the largest field in the event’s history, with athletes from clubs across Israel and two para categories. For the first time, the federation livestreamed the final. This year also marked the debut of the open team format, with mixed-gender pairs allowed. Dror and Uri Rozmarin Berlad won the team event, sweeping all three knockout rounds 6-0 and then beating the team of Itay Shani and Michaela Moshe 6-0 in the final. Federation chair Amit Scheiner-Dandker also noted that the men’s elite trophy is dedicated to the memory of Yaron Tal, and said Tal’s mother Nona, who had long overseen his commemoration, died this year.
