PARIS – Iran’s men’s sitting volleyball team head coach Hadi Rezaei is extremely happy for winning eighth gold medal in the Paralympic Games.

Team Melli defeated Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-1 (20-25, 30-28, 25-16, 25-14) on Friday in Paris in the final match.

Iran had earned three wins over Ukraine, Brazil and Germany in Pool B and then defeated Egypt to book their place in the final.

“It was very tough match but we managed to win the game. Bosnia and Herzegovina won the first set and put us under pressure but we could beat them in the second set and managed to win two more sets,” Rezaei told the reports after the match.

“As you know, there is no guarantee in sports. I am very happy because we have won a team sport medal and I think it is more interesting than individual sport,” he added.  

Iran had won seven out of 12 sitting volleyball gold medals since 1976 including the Seoul 1988, Barcelona 1992, Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000, Beijing 2008, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.  

This is Rezaei’s seventh Paralympic Games as the coach of Iran’s sitting volleyball team, leading them to four gold medals in that time. He was also a player before that, winning gold three times in Seoul, Barcelona and Atlanta.

“I’m happy because we have made our people happy. The Iranian people deserve the best and we want to continue our success in the future,” Rezaei concluded.