Indonesia 2018: Spotlight on goalball

China and Japan will be the teams to beat at the Indonesia 2018 Asian Para Games goalball competition as these are the only two Asian teams that qualified for the last Paralympic Games in 2016 in Rio.

The Chinese women progressed to the final having knocked out London 2012 gold medallists Japan in the quarter-finals but were beaten by Turkey in the final to take home the silver medal.

The Japanese women were the more in-form team at the 2018 Goalball World Championships in June in Sweden, finishing fifth overall having been knocked out in the quarter finals.

It was a disappointing tournament for China’s women, as they finished bottom of their group, something that three-time Paralympic silver medallist Chen Fengqing will be keen to put behind her.

In the men’s event, the Chinese are likely to feature in the hunt for medals, alongside the Iran and Japan.

Only the Chinese qualified for the Rio 2016 Paralympics but were knocked out in the quarter-finals by hosts Brazil.

At the Malmo 2018 World Championships, both Iran and China progressed through the group stage but were knocked out in the quarter-finals.

China and Iran made both the men’s and women’s finals at the last Asian Para Games in Incheon, South Korea, in 2014.

The Iranian team took gold in the men’s competition while the Chinese finished first in the women’s tournament. Japan took the bronze medal in both events.

The goalball competition will take place at Balai Kartini over six days with the medals being decided on 12 October.