Sadegh Bigdeli

Started: He began playing sitting volleyball in 2001 at age 17 while at school in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. (Athlete, 22 Aug 2021) Reason: His parents and one of his teachers encouraged him to try the sport. "My high school physical education teacher really wanted me to become a professional athlete. He was the reason I entered sitting volleyball." (Good Morning Iran, 07 Jul 2020; Athlete, 22 Apr 2012) Milestones: He is one of five Iranian sitting volleyball players [along with Davood Alipourian, Isa Zirahi, Jalil Eimeri, and Ramzan Salehi Hajikolaei] to have won five career Paralympic medals in the sport. (SportsDeskOnline, 01 Jul 2024) Awards: He was named Best Blocker in the men's tournament at the 2022 World Championships in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. (World ParaVolley Facebook page, 12 Nov 2022) In 2022 he received the Outstanding Achievement award from World ParaVolley. (ParaVolley Asia Oceania Facebook page, 26 Jul 2022) He was named Best Receiver at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. (worldparavolley.org, 04 Apr 2022) Additional Info: PARALYMPIC GAMES VETERAN He participated in five consecutive editions of the Paralympic Games from Athens 2004 to Tokyo 2020, collecting three gold medals and two silver medals. "Since 2004, a generational change has been made in this team. In the Iranian sitting volleyball team, you can see experience, youth, unity and camaraderie, and this is the reason why the Iranian team has [won either gold or silver at the Paralympic Games] nine times. We have good players and the future of Iranian sitting volleyball is very bright, but experienced and old players should not leave so easily, because the transfer of experience is very important for younger players." (hamshahrionline.ir, 29 Oct 2023; farsnews.ir, 18 Jul 2023; worldparavolley.org, 04 Apr 2022) OTHER ACTIVITIES In 2022 he was elected to the World ParaVolley Athletes' Commission as the representative of Asia-Oceania. (insidethegames.biz, 25 Sep 2022) OTHER STUDIES He has studied sports science and physical education at Kharazmi University in Tehran, Islamic Republic of Iran. (Facebook profile, 22 Mar 2023; Athlete, 22 Aug 2021)