Sitting Volleyball World Championships:
Iran claims record-extending ninth men’s title
Iran’s men’s team defeated Bosnia & Herzegovina 3-1 (25-21, 25-20, 20-25, 25-16) on Friday to win the Sitting Volleyball World Championships in Hangzhou, China, cementing its status as the most decorated team in the history of the Iranian sport.
The victory also secured Iran’s qualification for the Los Angeles 2028 Paralympics, where it will chase a record-extending ninth gold medal.
Meisam Alipour spearheaded Iran’s attack with a match-high 24 points, including an impressive seven aces, while Morteza Mehrzad added 23 as Iran retained its dominance by claiming a record-extending ninth men’s world title – its third in a row – in the 14 editions of the global showpiece.
Sadeq Bigdeli and Hossein Golestani contributed nine points apiece for Iran, while Mirzet Duran led Bosnia & Herzegovina with 17 points. Safet Alibasic (14) and Ermin Jusufovic (10) also reached double figures for the European side.
Friday’s victory was Iran’s second over its familiar rival in Hangzhou, following a 3-1 win in the pool stage. It also marked Iran’s fourth consecutive victory over Bosnia & Herzegovina in a major final, having also prevailed in the title showdowns in 2018 and 2022, as well as the gold-medal contest at the Paris 2024 Paralympics.
Iran was in a league of its own throughout the tournament, conceding only three sets in seven matches.
Iran began its Pool D campaign with a comeback 3-1 victory over Poland before defeating Bosnia & Herzegovina. A comfortable straight-set win against Japan then secured top spot in the group and a place in the round of 16 for head coach Hadi Rezaei’s side.
Iran went on to sweep Croatia before defeating the United States and Kazakhstan in straight sets to book another final meeting with Bosnia & Herzegovina.
Meisam Hajbabaei, Hamidreza Abbasi, Mahdi Babadi, Ali Akbari, Davoud Alipourian, Masoud Emami, Mohammad Nemati and Jamal Nazari were the other members of Iran’s squad at the World Championships.