World Wheelchair Basketball Championships Underway

The 2010 International Wheelchair Basketball Federation (IWBF) Wheelchair Basketball World Championships are currently taking place in Birmingham, Great Britain, with teams from all over the world battling it out on the court.

Today’s first game saw a strong performance from both China and Germany in the Women’s Pool B competition, with Germany winning 88-50. In the Men’s Pool B, Mexico took France by just three points, winning 57-54.

Yesterday saw a total of ten different games in the Men and Women Pool’s A and B. The first game of the day was in the Men’s Pool B, with Turkey beating Algeria 83-52. Following was the Women’s Pool A, with a strong Australia beating Mexico 82-38.

Finishing out the day, the Men’s Pool A had host country Great Britain win against Japan 74-59. The final game was also in the Men’s Pool A, with USA winning 92-67 against South Korea.

The Opening Ceremony on 7 July also had two opening matches. The Netherlands edged by Great Britain 39-38 in the Women’s Pool A, with the host country winning in the Men’s Pool A against South Korea 87-43.

International Paralympic Committee (IPC) President Sir Philip Craven is also in Birmingham, cheering on the athletes as they put on strong performances most certainly to be repeated in the upcoming London 2012 Paralympic Games.

Taking place from 7-17 July in the National Indoor Arena, the tournament is seeing 12 men’s teams and ten women’s teams compete in the most important and biggest Wheelchair Basketball event before the London 2012 Paralympic Games. Countries represented at the Championships include the Netherlands, Brazil, Great Britain, Japan, Australia, Germany, Mexico, USA, Canada, China, Poland, Italy, France, Turkey, Algeria and South Korea.