Iran, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Egypt are three top candidates to win the 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships.
Iran, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Egypt are three top candidates to win the 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships.
The competition will be held in the Netherlands in June, featuring the world’s best 15 male and female teams.
Iran aim to regain the world title they won for the last time in Edmond, USA, in 2010. Led by their 2.46m tall star player Morteza Mehrzad, Iran sealed gold at the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games following a 3-1 victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in the final. They are hoping to repeat such success in the Netherlands, Paralympic.org wrote.
Bosnia & Herzegovina will need to improve as they seek to successfully defend the world title claimed in Elblag, Poland, in 2014, when they beat Brazil 3-1 in a tight final.
In 2016, Bosnia & Herzegovina lost to Iran 3-1 in the Paralympic final. One year later, the team lost to Russia in the semi-final at the European Championships and could not defend the continental title for a 10th time.
With Hesham Elshwikh’s leadership, Egypt secured their first Paralympic medal in the sport at Rio 2016, taking bronze after a much-celebrated victory over host Brazil 3-2 in a thrilling game. They have repeatedly ended within the top four teams at World Championships and Paralympic Games and they will surely be a leading contenders again in the Netherlands.
China, USA and Brazil are three top candidates to win the women’s competition.