Wheelchair Basketball Draw Decides Groups for London 2012

The Wheelchair Basketball draw for the London 2012 Paralympic Games was conducted on Saturday night (21 January) at a gala dinner hosted by British Wheelchair Basketball in Aylesbury, Great Britain.

The 12 men’s and 10 women’s teams were divided into two groups for the Games.

Men

Group A: Spain, Italy, USA, Turkey, Australia, South Africa

Group B: Germany, Canada, Colombia, Poland, Japan, Great Britain

Women

Group A: Australia, Canada, the Netherlands, Brazil, Great Britain

Group B: China, USA, Germany, France, Mexico/South Africa

On the men’s side, Australia will look to defend its Paralympic title in London but will face stiff competition in Group A from USA, which recently took Parapan American Games gold in Guadalajara, Mexico. Host nation Great Britain, the reigning European champions, will have a tall task in Group B with tough opponents in Canada and Japan.

For the women, Beijing 2008’s gold medallists, USA, were grouped together with Germany, last year’s European champions. Australia, Canada and the Netherlands headline the other group.

The final women’s spot in Group B will be awarded to Mexico or South Africa when the two teams meet for a three-game series with cumulative scoring from 29 February – 3 March.

Wheelchair Basketball at the Games will take place at the Basketball Arena and the North Greenwich Arena.