An Interview with Mohammadreza Dastyar, the head coach of Iran men's wheelchair basketball team

Mohammadreza Dastyar's Team, with their recent passionate triumph over the Netherlands at the IWBF World Championships, took a historic bronze in Dubai, as Iran’s first-ever World medal. His Asian title holder men stamped their stature as one of the best teams in the world.

He will also lead Iran national team in Hangzhou, including Men’s National Team training camps.

Now the team is preparing to defend 2018 title at Hangzhou Games, as the clock is counting down and the beginning of the Fourth Asian Para Games is fast approaching.

Here, head coach Dastyar talks with Iran NPC Website about how this great achievement has been accomplished, the programs men's wheelchair basketball running and the plans for Hangzhou Asian Para Games.

Q. Your team has recently achieved a historic medal for Iran' Wheelchair Basketball at the 2023 IWBF World Championships. How do you see Team Iran’s performance in Dubai?

That was a big accomplishment for us. We came out with a victory in a third-place match of World Championships, for the first time.

And I am so proud of my team. We have passed a lot of ups and downs after 2018 Hamburg World Championships.

Our team attended the event with a mixture of newcomer and seniors with players from the U-23 team including 18-year-old Abolfazl Jalaei and Amirreza Ahmadi. We started training only after October 2022. Some of our athletes were playing in Germany and Turkey leagues and joined us less than a month before Dubai 2023.

So, we held a few friendly matches in Dubai, just before the start of official events. They were very helpful, of course.

We also had two tough opening games, facing titles holders GB and the USA teams at the group stage. They weren't coming down to the last minute. Although we lost to them but didn't give up. We played our best when the games got the hardest.

We analyzed Netherlands’ game and planned accordingly. Before the match, I told my boys that we need to control the game, play with mind and not with heart.

It was a good win and overall great Championships with my young players.

Obviously, there are numerous people who I need to acknowledge and thank, notably my assistant coaches Behrouz Soltani and Yaser Gilaki and of course the officials of Iran Sports Federation for the Disabled and our NPC who support us during the preparation process.

Q. Will all these team members compete in Hangzhou Asian Para Games?

There are certainly things that we’ve got to work on. We don’t yet know who will go to Hangzhou from our team, exactly. It's possible that we will face a few changes. Some of our players are playing in Germany and Turkey, they will also return to their clubs. So, we have plans to get more players from my U-23 team.

Q. How many players have been invited to the current national camp, which is running under your lead and why wheelchair basketball has staged this selection camp?

Twelve players have already been able to show their capabilities at this five-day training camp.

Here, at the IRISFD's court, we’re really interested in inviting these young players. They are going through training sessions and have a taste of action with some matches. The talents, skills and some other factors of the invitees are observed. At the end, they will go home with a training program and the best players will add to the senior national team. These are our best athletes from national league. Some of them have been invited to the national camps before. So, we are going to give them an extra opportunity.

Q. And as the final questions; What is your future plan for the team at the upcoming events?

We are looking forward to working with a new wave of players for upcoming events. The vision of development of the youth category will continue in order for Iran not to miss out on this generation of talent at the senior level in future.

We have already reached our target at the World Championships. Next step is Asian Para Games. we aim to continue this momentum to Hangzhou.

We also hope Iran NPC support will be continued to help us for saving a spot at 2024 Paris Paralympic Games.