Athens 2004 silver medalist Iran clinched the gold medal in Men's Sitting Volleyball by dominating World No. 1 and Paralympic defending champion Bosnia and Herzegovina 25-22, 25-18, 25-22 at CAU Gymnasium on Monday, September 15.
Iran did not drop a set in the entire tournament. With this victory they locked up their fifth gold medal in Sitting Volleyball Paralympic history, returning to the top spot after a second-place finish in Athens in 2004.
Bosnia and Herzegovina tried hard to upset Iran, attacking fast and blocking their spikes effectively. But Iran kept their focus and were able to reduce the effects of Bosnia and Herzegovina's offence taking out a well-coordinated game and counterattacking powerfully with all their multi-skilled players.
Bosnia and Herzegovina directed the beginning of the first set securing the advantage with spikes by Ismet Godinjak and Ermin Jusufovic. Iran tied the match at 15-15 thanks to a streak of offensive errors in the opponents' court.
Iran team then took control with strong attacks from Reza Peidayesh. Bosnia and Herzegovina were too busy defending to build up their offence and Iran closed the set 25-22.
Bosnia and Herzegovina bothered Iran's defense at the beginning of the second set, but Iran gained the lead with blocks that Bosnia struggled to kill.
Peidayesh kept banging and blocking balls to the opponents' court and Bosnia and Herzegovina had too many errors, wasting important chances to score. A shot out by Asim Medic of Bosnia and Herzegovina closed the second set 25-18.
The European team looked more precise in the third set, scoring on blocks and counterattacking steadily with Medic, Safet Alibasic and Adnan Manko. However, Iran did not allow Bosnia and Herzegovina to go too far, taking the lead at 17-16. A spike by Mohammad Khaleghi wrapped up the match and gave Iran its fifth Paralympic gold.
(Xinhua News Agency September 15, 2008)