2018 wheelchair basketball Worlds: What you need to know

Twenty-eight teams will compete in Germany this August 06 Jan 2018
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male wheelchair basketball players hug eachother on the court

USA are one of the nations to watch at the 2018 Worlds after winning gold in both men's and women's competitions at Rio 2016

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By IPC

For 16 men’s and 12 women’s wheelchair basketball teams, 2018 will be all about the World Championships, which will take place from 16-26 August in Hamburg, Germany.

Both the men and women’s US teams are coming off Paralympic success at Rio 2016. While the US men won their seventh consecutive Americas Cup title, a qualifier for the 2018 Worlds, the Canadian women rolled over the USA at the competition, showing their intent to return to the top.

Last year also saw Turkey take revenge on Great Britain, who dashed Turkey’s hopes of a first Paralympic medal in the third-place game, at the European Championships. In the women’s side, the Netherlands took back their title from Germany – both teams are strong contenders for Worlds podiums.

In the African zone, Morocco stole the final spot in Hamburg by defeating the defending African men’s champions Algeria. It was no surprise when the Algerian women won the Zonal Championships, following up on their historic Paralympic debut at Rio 2016.

MEN’S

Teams: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Iran, Japan, Morocco, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, South Korea, Turkey, USA

Rio 2016 Paralympics: USA (gold), Spain (silver), Great Britain (bronze)

2014 World Championships: Australia (gold), USA (silver), Turkey (bronze)

 

WOMEN’S

Teams: Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain, Netherlands, Spain, USA

Rio 2016 Paralympics: USA (gold), Germany (silver), Netherlands (bronze)

2014 World Championships: Canada (gold), Germany (silver), Netherlands (bronze)

 

For more information visit the official website.