Iran, Japan Dominate Goalball Competition at 2018 Asian Para Games
More than 2,400 athletes from 43 countries competed in 15 Paralympic and three non-Paralympic sports during the 2018 Asian Para Games in Jakarta on Oct. 6-13.
One of the Paralympic sports is goalball, which was devised in 1946 to assist with the rehabilitation of visually impaired World War II veterans. It became a Paralympic sport in 1976 and the first world championship took place in Austria in 1978.
The sport has simple rules. The field is 18 meters long and 9 meters wide and the goal areas span the width of the pitch. Each team has three players on the court at a time and up to three substitutes on the bench. Players throw the ball to their opponents to score points, while opponents try to block the ball using their hands and knees. A goal is worth one point, which is scored when the ball completely crosses the goal line. The team with the higher score at the end of regulation time wins.
Teams from China, South Korea, Thailand, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Qatar, Laos and host Indonesia competed in the event at Balai Kartini in South Jakarta.
Japan defeated China 5-3 in the women's final, while Iran beat China 8-3 in the men's final.