Teams face off for final wheelchair rugby Worlds spots

Final four countries will be decided at Nottwil Qualification Tournament 03 Apr 2018
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a male wheelchair rugby player

South Korea are one of the teams competing for a place at the 2018 Worlds

ⒸCherie Harris
By IPC

The final four teams heading to the GIO 2018 International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) World Championships in August will be decided this week.

From Wednesday (4 April), eight teams will take on the World Championship Qualification Tournament in Nottwil, Switzerland.

Colombia, Germany, Poland and Switzerland head Pool A. Pool B features Brazil, Ireland, New Zealand and South Korea.

Pool play games will take place from 4-6 April. Semi-finals will follow on 7 April, and the final placing games on 8 April.

Poland, Germany and Ireland missed their opportunity to directly qualify for the 2018 Worlds after finishing outside the top four at the 2017 European Championships last June.

New Zealand defeated South Korea for the Asia-Oceania Championship bronze medal in August. But only the top two finishers from there advanced to August’s 2018 Worlds.

Brazil did likewise to Colombia at the 2017 Americas Championship. But it was the USA and Canada, the gold and silver medallists respectively, who earned the direct qualification spots.

Australia, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Japan and Sweden are the other teams who have already secured their spots in Sydney, Australia.

The Qualification Tournament will be shown live here on the International Paralympic Committee website.

The complete schedule and team rosters are also available on the event website.