Paris 2024: Iran’s Morteza Mehrzadselakjani eyeing gold hat-trick
Sitting volleyball star Morteza Mehrzadselakjani is a household name in Iran but the humble champion shuns the limelight and prefers to let his on-court heroics do the talking.
At 2.46m (8ft 1in) Mehrzad is the Paralympics’ tallest athlete and the second tallest man in the world.
The naturally skillful spiker and blocker gives opponent team coaches nightmares and has helped deliver Iran sitting volleyball gold at the Tokyo 2020 and Rio 2016 Paralympic Games.
At its maximum Mehrzad’s block reach is 1.96m and his spike reach is 2.30m.
During Iran’s clash with Brazil on Sunday, the 36-year-old was lethal at the net as his team demolished their opponents 75-44 in three straight sets – 25-12, 25-13, 25-19.
Teammate Mahdi Babadi praised Brazil as strong opponents.
“They had good tempo. For this we played offensively and distributed our players across the court,” he told reporters.
“Our aim was to get points with our service,”
While Iran, with its two wins, has already qualified for the semi-final, Babadi said the team was unlikely to go soft in its next round-robin match against Germany.
Asked if the team would try to conserve its energy, he said: “We will play all teams with our full energy, 100 per cent”.
The loss to Iran was dire for Brazil’s prospects to continue in the competition. It must regroup for its next game against Ukraine.
“It was a very difficult match,” Renato Leite told reporters.
“Now we have a one per cent chance of making the semifinal.”
Humble hero
An Iranian journalist who has watched Mehrzad play for a decade said: “he just keeps getting better and better”.
“He’s a natural athlete,” the reporter said.
“He’s a shy person. He doesn’t like to do interviews. He’s very humble.”
His coach said Mehrzad has been sleeping on the floor at the Paralympic Village because the beds are too small. But he isn’t complaining, he is focused on the job of winning.
Tall order
Mehrzad has acromegaly, a rare condition that stems from excessive growth hormone. His right leg is now about six inches shorter than his left leg.
He uses a wheelchair or crutches following a serious pelvis fracture suffered from a teen bicycle crash.
In 2011 he started playing sitting volleyball after a coach spotted him on television and saw his height as a potential asset. He made the national team five years later.
Going for gold again
Iran has won seven out of 12 sitting volleyball gold medals since 1976 including the Sydney 2000 and Beijing 2008 events.
https://www.paralympic.org/media/oembed?url=https%3A//www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D6xd3-TcQl4Y&max_width=1200&max_height=675&hash=1guVJ37nadHkj6R2t8Mt0UdFbwUZHW2G1htwKoe_Noo
Fierce rivals Bosnia & Herzegovina took the glory at the Athens 2004 and London 2012 Games.
Bosnia & Herzegovina are also undefeated in the other pool with victories over Egypt and Kazakstan.
Despite the pressure to perform and live up to high expectations, the team is feeling relaxed but determined.
“As a team, we have all promised each other that we will become champions in this competition,” teammate Meisam Ali Pour said after Iran’s three-set clean sweep over Ukraine on Friday.
