Argentina ends Brazil’s dominance in blind football and advances to Paralympic final against France

PARIS (AP) — The Brazilian blind men’s soccer team’s winning streak has ended.

The Brazilians had not lost at the Paralympics for 20 years, until they reached the final with a 4-3 penalty shootout defeat to rivals Argentina on Thursday night.

After a goalless draw, Argentina won 4-3 on penalties, but Brazilian forward Ricardinho’s penalty hit the post to give Argentina victory in the semi-finals. Paris Paralympic Games.

Since blind football was included in the Paralympic Games program in 2004, Brazil has dominated the sport, winning five consecutive gold medals.

Led by striker Maximiliano Espinillo, who scored the opening penalty of the match, Argentine footballers celebrated on the field in front of the Eiffel Tower.

“My little ones, as I told my teammates today, made me really happy,” said Argentine defender Froilan Padilla. “They left everything on the field.”

Argentina, last year’s world champions, will face France for the gold medal on Saturday.

USA reaches basketball final

Brian Bell continued his winning streak with a 31-point double-double at the Paralympic Wheelchair Basketball Tournament, helping the United States beat Canada 80-43 and advance to the gold medal match against Great Britain on Saturday.

Bell made 14 of 18 field goals and grabbed 10 rebounds.

England became the only unbeaten team in the tournament, beating Germany 71-43.

McFadden disqualified

American wheelchair racer Tatyana McFadden was on track for her second Paralympic medal, a bronze, but was later disqualified in the official results after she veered off the track in the T54 400m final.

Lea Bayekula, who beat McFadden in the 100-meter final on Wednesday, won the gold medal with a time of 53.05.

The T54 category is for competitors with spinal cord injuries who compete using a wheelchair and have no leg function but normal arm and hand function.

Didier won the silver medal

French swimmer Ugo Didier thrilled his fellow countrymen in the stands by winning the silver medal in the 200m individual medley SM9 final, securing his third medal at the Paris Paralympic Games.

When Didier emerged from the tunnel, he was greeted with French flags and chants from all over the stadium, with fans chanting his name.

The crowd rose to their feet as the swimmers entered the water, growing louder in anticipation with each turn.

Australian Timothy Hodge won the gold medal with a time of 2 minutes, 13.31 seconds, setting a new Paralympic record.

Ugo came in second with a time of 2:15.98, followed by French swimmer Hector Denayer who won the bronze medal with a time of 2:17.34. The SM9 category is for swimmers with low levels of coordination in the arms and legs and a major weakness or missing limb in one leg.

Iranian volleyball progresses

Iran’s men’s sitting volleyball team overcame its first upset at the Paralympics to advance to the gold medal match by beating Egypt in four sets on Thursday.

The seven-time Paralympic champions will be competing for their third consecutive gold medal in the final against Bosnia and Herzegovina on Friday.

Iran lost the third set against Egypt but dominated again in the fourth set and won 25-8 to secure a semi-final victory.

Iran has the height advantage on the court, with the tallest Paralympian on their roster. Morteza Mehrzadselakjani stands over 8ft tall and towers over the net, firing shots that are hard to defend.

Speaking after the match, Head Coach Hadi Rezaeigarkani said, “If I, say, win this championship, bringing it here can be considered one of the most important things I have done in my life.”

Paris is celebrating Mehrzadselakjani’s third Paralympic Games — he has two gold medals from Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. He was diagnosed with acromegaly, a condition that causes excessive growth, at a young age. Mehrzadselakjani uses a wheelchair to get around since a cycling accident injured his pelvis and stunted the growth of his right leg, which is six inches shorter than his left.

Masters wins gold again

American Oksana Masters did it again Thursday, winning her ninth Paralympic gold medal and 19th overall in the women’s H5 road kneeling handcycle event.

The 35-year-old Masters athlete maintained her lead with 3 kilometers to go, having kept pace with China’s Sun Bianbian, Italy’s Ana Maria Vitelaru and Germany’s Andrea Eskau for most of the 56.8-kilometer (35-mile) race.

“I just went into survival mode,” Masters said. “I channeled and believed in what my team believed in me.”

Masters opened up an 11-second lead in the final uphill section. He finished in a time of 1 hour, 52 minutes, 14 seconds. Sun took the silver medal and Vitelaru moved into the bronze medal spot.

The H5 road race is his second gold medal in two races at the Masters in Paris. He will contest his third and final race in the mixed H1-5 team relay on Saturday.

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Anna Licastro, Jack Rachinsky and Avery Hill contributed to this report. They and Amanda Vogt are students in the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State.

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AP Paralympic Games: https://apnews.com/hub/paralympic-games