2012 Day 4 Summary

First time home nations take away first ever wins.

CHN 3 – 0 RWA
(25-10, 25-13, 25-17)
Rwanda’s first ever sitting volleyball appearance at the Paralympics is still drawing in the attention of mass media throughout the world. However, their performance on the court is still under developed, and much more work is needed to avoid last place as they fell in 3 sets to China.

NED 1 – 3 UKR
(24-26, 25-15, 11-25, 19-25)
Ukraine’s recent form over the last two years has superseded the Dutch, and on this occasion, it was no different. Although the Netherlands had one set point in the first set, the Ukrainians managed to take the first set. The Netherlands took the next set, however, Ukraine played without restrain as they won the match 3-1.

GBR 3 – 0 MAR
(25-20, 25-19, 25-12)
Great Britain’s sitting volleyball programme commenced in 2007 and the first major international competition was the 2009 European Championship, where they lost every single set. The first ever win for a GB team was at the next European Championships in 2009 when they defeated Greece. In 2012, they won their first ever Paralympic match. They were always in control of the match, and Morocco were never in the lead at any point.

SLO 2 – 3 BRA
(17-25, 28-30, 25-19, 25-21, 7-15)
Another exciting match took place at the sitting volleyball arena, at the South Hall of the Excel centre. In a back and forth match, Brazil’s first Paralympic victory was a roller-coaster for both teams. Brazil came out all guns blazing in the first set. In the second set, despite a surge of points by the Slovenians, the Brazilians found a way back into the game in the latter stages of the match. The money line proved to be important parts of the match for the next two sets too. The start of the fifth set was a close encounter, but it wasn’t long before Brazil pulled away and made their Paralympic debut with at least one win. Following their previous match against China, where they took a set from the Paralympic champions, Brazil do not look like a beginners team.

GBR 0 – 3 JPN
(11-25, 21-25, 14-25)
A third debut Paralympic team win was not meant to be this time, as Japan destroyed the hosts, Great Britain in sitting volleyball. The playing time lasted exactly one hour.

EGY 2 – 3 RUS
(25-22, 25-19, 18-25, 21-25, 11-15)
Russia came from 2 sets down to win the match over the world’s 4th seed. After Russia’s lost the previous night, they seem to have a desire to win.