If it's Israeli independence day, it must be paddle ball
FILE PHOTO: People play paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 6, 2019. Picture taken May 6, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
TEL AVIV (Reuters) - As Israelis mark their independence day, the "ting-dong" sound of paddle ball being played on beaches is as much a part of the celebratory noise as the crackle of fireworks.
Israelis consider the game, called "matkot" from the Hebrew word for paddle, as their unofficial national sport.
On a Tel Aviv beach, part of a hotel-lined waterfront popular with tourists and residents, numerous matkot games were underway on Wednesday ahead of the official start of the independence day celebrations at nightfall.
People play paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 7, 2019. Picture taken May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
"Matkot is Israel," said Haim Dagan, owner of a workshop making paddles by hand.
The shop is named Ting-Dong after the sound made as two players hit a small rubber ball from one to the other.
"In all the beaches you will hear the sound of the matkot - and if you are not careful you can also get hit by a ball," said Dagan, whose father started the business in the 1970s.
A man plays paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 7, 2019. Picture taken May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
He said its popularity on Israeli beaches, where bathers often have to navigate around the players to approach the water, was testament to Israeli "chutzpah", or nerve, in a region still locked in conflict.
People play paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 7, 2019. Picture taken May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
(Reporting by Rami Amichay, Writing by Rinat Harash, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
FILE PHOTO: Haim Dagan, 57, owner of a local workshop that makes hand-made paddle ball rackets, known in Hebrew as "matkot", works on a racket at the workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: Paddle ball rackets, known in Hebrew as "matkot", are displayed near the entrance of a local workshop that makes the hand-made rackets in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: Crates stacked with paddle ball rackets, known in Hebrew as "matkot", are seen at a local workshop that makes the hand-made rackets in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: An employee holds a paddle ball racket, known in Hebrew as "matkot", as he stands at the entrance of a local workshop that makes hand-made paddle ball rackets in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: Haim Dagan, 57, owner of a local workshop that makes hand-made paddle ball rackets, known in Hebrew as "matkot", works with an employee at his workshop in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: An employee is reflected in a mirror as he works at a local workshop that makes hand-made paddle ball rackets, known in Hebrew as "matkot", in Tel Aviv, Israel April 30, 2019. Picture taken April 30, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: A man plays paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 7, 2019. Picture taken May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenA man plays paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 7, 2019. Picture taken May 7, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: A man plays paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 4, 2019. Picture taken May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Amir CohenFILE PHOTO: A man plays paddle ball, known in Hebrew as "matkot", a popular Israeli sport, at a beach in Ashkelon, Israel May 4, 2019. Picture taken May 4, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen
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