Volleyball (sitting)

Final match, 27th September 2004, Athens.

Bosnia came from 2 sets to 1 down to defeat Iran in a pulsating Final which went all the way to the last set.

What a way for the Bosnian team to get their first and only medal of the Paralympic Games.

Bosnia and Herzegovina dashed the four-time Paralympic champion's Irans' hopes of a fifth Sitting Volleyball Gold. The marathon match captivated the Athens crowd well into the night.

Iran, which has lifted the title in 1988-2000 Paralympics, lost 3-2 and finished runner-up.

Bosnia won the first, fourth, and fifth sets 25-23 27-25 15-10 and Iran won the second and third sets 25-20 25-20.


About Sitting Volleyball

Paralympic volleyball is played in a sitting position with no classification system, apart from the minimal disability requirements of amputation or spinal cord injury etc.

The court dimensions (10m x 6m) are slightly different to olympic volleyball and the net is 1.15m high (1.05 for women). Tournament format is best of 5 sets, 8 teams playoff in the Men's and 6 teams in the Women's - 12 players in each squad. 6 Player's on each team on court, the ball hitter must always have pelvic contact with the ground when striking the ball, otherwise standard rules of volleyball apply .

News: Bosnia hold off Iran in Germany

FIV