The Hague, the Netherlands, July 22, 2018 – Paralympic champions Iran added the Men’s World Championship crown to their name following a convincing 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-20) win over defending champions Bosnia & Herzegovina in the World ParaVolley 2018 Sitting Volleyball Men’s World Championship on Sunday in The Hague.

It is the sixth time that the Sitting Volleyball powerhouse has held the World Championship and Paralympic titles together. Having won the Sitting Volleyball World Championship in 1985, 1986, 1990, 1994, 1998, 2010 and 2018, Iran have also won Paralympic gold medals in 1988, 1992, 1996, 2000, 2008 and 2016.

The most successful nation in men’s Sitting Volleyball, Iran restored order at the top of the table in a dominant manner by beating world No 2 and recent contenders to their crown Bosnia & Herzegovina, who were world champions in 2002, 2006 and 2010.

It’s the ninth time Iran has medalled from nine appearances at a World Championships (there has been 12 editions in total). When they didn’t win the title they won silver – against Bosnia & Herzegovina – in 2010 and bronze in 2002 and 2014.

Playing in front of a boisterous full-house crowd, Iran, with Morteza Mehrzadselakjani at his dominant best, were too good for Bosnia & Herzegovina who collected their sixth World Champions medal – three gold, two silver and one bronze – from six appearances.

As finalists at the 2018 Sitting Volleyball World Championships, both of these teams qualify for the 2020 Tokyo Paralympics.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day Brazil won their second World Championship medal – after silver in 2014 – by beating the Ukraine in a very tight match with only six points separating the two teams 3-0 (28-26, 25-23, 27-25) in the play off for bronze.