Month in para-sport review – November 2014
Find out who won what and how during November, a busy month around the globe for para-sport 01 Dec 2014
Brazil wins the IBSA Blind Football 5-a-side World Championships
Titles in 5-a-side football, wheelchair tennis, ice sledge hockey, wheelchair fencing and wheelchair dance sport were decided in November, together with the final line-up for February’s Wheelchair Curling World Championships.
Here’s a round-up of all the best sporting events to have taken place in November.
IBSA Blind Football 5-a-side World Championships
Brazil won their fourth 5-a-side world title with a 1-0 victory over Argentina in a tournament held in Tokyo, Japan.
The two sides are the only ones to ever win the competition and extra-time was needed to decide the winner. Although Jefinho scored the winning goal, it was his teammate Ricardinho who finished as top scorer and was named the competition’s best player.
Wheelchair Curling Qualification Event
Norway and Germany have qualified for the 2015 World Wheelchair Curling Championships after victory at the World Wheelchair Curling Qualification event in Lillehammer, Norway, on 6 November.
Following their victories, the two teams will join Paralympic champions Canada, Sweden, China, USA, Russia, Scotland, Slovakia and Finland at the World Wheelchair Curling Championships 2015 in Lohja, Finland, between 7-14 February.
- Find out how Norway and Germany progressed
2014 UNIQLO Wheelchair Tennis Doubles Masters
France’s Stephane Houdet made history at the 2014 UNIQLO Wheelchair Doubles Masters in Mission Veijo, California, USA, on 9 November by becoming the first player to win the men’s title for three consecutive years.
Along with Belgium’s Joachim Gerard – who was partnering Houdet for the first time at this competition – the top seeds beat France’s Michael Jeremiasz and Great Britain’s Gordon Reid 6-4, 6-1 to claim the title.
Japan’s Yui Kamiji and Great Britain’s Jordanne Whiley capped an incredible 2014 by winning the women’s title 6-2 6-1 against Great Britain’s Louise Hunt and Germany’s Katharina Kruger.
History was also made in the quad competition, as the top seeds, the USA’s David Wagner and Nick Taylor, claimed an eighth Doubles Masters title beating Great Britain’s Jamie Burdekin and Andy Lapthorne 6-4, 4-6, 6-3.
- Check-out a full round-up of the action here
IPC Ice Sledge Hockey International Women’s Cup
On Saturday 9 November, the USA beat Canada 5-1 to win the first ever IPC Ice Sledge Hockey Women’s International Cup in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.
The three team tournament also featured a combined Team Europa.
- Read the full match report here
2014 Wheelchair Dance Sport European Championships
Russia topped the medals table in Lomianki, Poland, with five gold, eight silver and three bronze whilst Belarus finished second with three gold. Ukraine completed the top three with two titles in an event that featured around 110 athletes from nearly 20 countries.
It was the sport’s first European Championships since 2009.
- Find out which athletes won which events here
IPCAS Para-snowboard World Cup
The USA’s Mike Shea and the Netherlands’ Sochi 2014 Biban Mentel-Spee were amongst the winners at the IPCAS Para-snowboard World Cup in Landgraaf, the Netherlands, on 20 November.
At the first World Cup event of the year featuring banked slalom, there were also wins for French rider Cecile Hernandez-Cervellon, Austria’s Patrick Mayrhofer and the USA’s Mike Schultz.
- Full review of the action here
IWAS Wheelchair Fencing World Cup
Hungarian athletes dominated on home territory at the 2014 International Wheelchair and Amputee Sports Federation (IWAS) Wheelchair Fencing World Cup in Eger between 20-23 November.
Home athletes Zsuzsanna Krajnyak and Richard Osvath were on-form in both individual and team events, whilst the British team also left Eger pleased with their results.
France, Italy and Germany also won titles ahead of the next Grand Prix which will be held in Hong Kong, China, between 17-21 December.
- Full review of all the action here
2014 NEC Wheelchair Tennis Singles Masters
USA’s David Wagner, Japan’s Shingo Kunieda and the Netherlands’ Aniek Van Koot were the title winners at the final major wheelchair tennis competition of 2014, staged in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Great Britain.
World No.1 Wagner beat in-form Australian Dylan Alcott 6-4 7-5 to take the quads title, whilst Kunieda, the top ranked player in the men’s game, was a 6-1 6-1 winner against France’s Nicolas Peifer.
The women’s title was an all Dutch affair won by World No 3. Van Koot 3-6 6-4 6-1 against World No.2 Jiske Griffionen.
- Find out more about the NEC Masters quad final here and the men's and women's finals here.