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IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships:
Iran drawn against Canada, Germany, Morocco in group phase
The draw for the tournament, which will serve as the first qualification event for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympic Games, saw the 16 participating teams divided into four groups following the conclusion of the IWBF Men’s Repechage in Suphan Buri, Thailand, where Iran, Poland, the Netherlands and Brazil secured the remaining berths for the world championships.
Defending champion USA has been drawn in Group A alongside Italy, Brazil and the Netherlands, while two-time champion Australia will face Great Britain, Türkiye and Argentina in Group B.
Spain, Japan, Poland and Colombia make up Group C.
Iran completed a clean sweep of three victories in Suphan Buri.
The Iranian side opened its campaign with an emphatic 77-24 victory over Senegal before defeating Brazil 75-63 the following day at the Suphan Buri Indoor Stadium.
An 81-59 win over Poland then saw Iran finish atop the Group B standings. Under the tournament format, the top team in each group was scheduled to face the bottom-placed team from the opposite group, while the runners-up were to meet the third-placed team from the other pool. The winners of the four crossover matches would qualify for the World Championships. However, Iran was awarded direct qualification after Venezuela’s late withdrawal from the tournament left Group A without a fourth-placed team.
Iran achieved its best result in three appearances at the world championships in the previous edition in Dubai, claiming the bronze medal with a 72-54 victory over the Netherlands in the third-place playoff.
The 14th edition of the World Championships, held every four years, will bring together 336 athletes from 28 teams – including 12 women’s teams – from around the world in Ottawa.