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China, Japan take top prizes at goalball Asia-Pacific Champs
Defending Paralympic champions Japan proved they are still the team to beat head of Rio 2016. 16 Nov 2015
Japan's Masae Komiya throws the ball during her the women's goalball gold-medal match against China at the Copper Box at the London 2012 Paralympic Games.
The Japanese women’s goalball team defeated China 1-0 for the gold medal at the 2015 International Bind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball Asia/Pacific Championships on 12 November in Hangzhou, China. But China found a victory in the men’s side, as the Chinese defeated Iran 8-4 in the final.
It was a rematch of the London 2012 finals, and defending Paralympic champions Japan proved to still be in strong form ahead of Rio 2016.
The Japanese women’s lone loss during the tournament came to China. Japan displayed a flawless defense in the finals and took a narrow 1-0 lead at the half. China, with their undefeated record on the line, worked to try to penetrate Japan's defense but could not manage.
The Australian women took home the bronze medal defeating Thailand 6-2.
In the men’s final, the crowd would see a pairing of two undefeated men's teams, Iran and China, and it was China who proved to have the better offense.
The South Korean men took the bronze after defeating Japan 8-3.
Top scoring honours for the men went to China’s Cai Changgui, who tallied 19 goals. The women's top scorer was Australia's Meica Horsburgh, who registered 17 goals.
Complete results of the 2015 IBSA Goalball Asia/Pacific Championships can be found on IBSA’s website.
