Rezaei’s 16: Iran’s sitting volleyball aces assemble for training

In preparation for the highly anticipated Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, Iran men’s sitting volleyball coach Hadi Rezaei has unveiled his lineup for their upcoming third-round training camp.

A total of 16 players have been selected to participate in the training sessions set to kick off in Tehran on March 3.

Assisted by coaches Jalil Imeri, Amin Asghari and Hasan Mohammadi, Rezaei will lead the Iranian team through intensive training sessions until March 9, focusing on refining their skills and strategies for the Paralympic Games in August.

The roster for the training camp includes some of Iran’s top sitting volleyball players:

1. Sadegh Bigdeli
2. Hamidreza Abbasi
3. Mahdi Babadi
4. Majid Lashgari
5. Ramezan Salehi
6. Morteza Mehrzad
7. Hossein Golestani
8. Seyed Mohammad Hosseini
9. Mohammad Nemati
10. Jamal Nazari
11. Ghasem Eslami
12. Masoud Emami
13. Meisam Alipour
14. Meisam Hajbabaei
15. Isa Zirahi
16. Davoud Alipourian

The team boasts an impressive record, having secured seven gold medals in the Paralympic Games and further reasserting their dominance by topping the 2023 World Ranking.

The Iranians have clinched their spot in the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games by emerging victorious in the 2022 World ParaVolley Sitting Volleyball World Championship held in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. And since then, they have won the Asian Zone Championship, Asian Para Games and the World Cup last year.

With the guidance of Rezaei and his experienced coaching staff, Iran’s volleyball is primed for the challenges ahead.