Goalball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics
| Goalball at the XIII Paralympic Games |
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Paralympic Goalball
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| Venue | Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium |
| Dates | 7–14 September 2008 |
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| Qualified for the quarterfinals |
| Qualified for the semifinals |
Goalball at the 2008 Summer Paralympics was held in the Beijing Institute of Technology Gymnasium from September 7 to September 14. The competition consisted of men's and women's team events, and what had been billed as one of the most open tournaments certainly lived up to expectations.
In the women's gold medal game, the lead changed hands five times, with the USA outlasting China by a score of 6–5, with never more than one goal in it. The winning goal came from Asya Miller with less than a minute to go.
The gold medal in the men's game was even more dramatic. Lithuania, the current world champions, took advantage of a clutch of penalties in the first half to jump ahead of China by 6 goals to 2 at the half, and looked to be holding on despite a steady comeback. With only 50 seconds on the clock, the Chinese were two goals behind (6–8) but managed to overturn the deficit with three goals in 30 seconds to take the gold 9–8, sending the packed BIT Gymnasium into rapture.
Players are given a classification depending on the type and extent of their disability. Visually impaired athletes in classes B1 through B3 can take part in goalball. Partially sighted players wear blindfolds so that they compete on equal terms with blind players.
There will be 12 men's teams and 8 women's teams taking part in this sport.
Note: The slots allocated to 2006 World Championships is 4, but as host nation China PR win the silver medal, so the 1 unused slots is allocated to 2007 World Games, so the slots of 2007 World Games add to 4.
The twelve men's teams were divided into two even groups for a single round robin group stage. The top four teams of each group will advance to the quarter finals to compete for 1st through 8th place, while the last two teams of each group compete for 9th through 12th place. All matches in the second stage are knock-out format.
2008-09-12
The eight women's teams will play a single round robin tournament. The top four teams advance to the semi-final to compete for 1st through 4th place.
China-Sweden PSC
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