Britain’s women took Japan to the wire in their quest to win a set in the London 2012 sitting volleyball tournament but the Paralympic newcomers ended the tournament in eighth place after another 3-0 defeat at the ExCeL this morning.
Britain put the lively Japanese under pressure in a hard fought first set and almost clinched it after 25 minutes before Japan edged the verdict, 25-23.
The second set was close too, but Japan eventually won it 25-19 before running out winners of the classification match with a more comfortable third set victory, 25-13.
The result means Britain finish eighth on their Games debut, without having won a set from their five matches but with pride intact after another performance which justified their presence at London 2012.
Coach Steve Jones’ team was formed less than three years ago and won a host nation place at the Games. But they acquitted themselves well against the best sides on the world and almost took sets off group winners Ukraine and Brazil, as well as the Japanese.
Britain’s 40-year-old captain Claire Harvey said the team has shown how far they have come in such a short space of time.
“This was always going to be a very tough tournament,” she said. “It was all about gaining experience in this sort of arena, which you don’t get anywhere else, and to take our sport into Rio.
“Volleyball England, the BPA and ParalympicsGB have been amazing in supporting us and getting us from a group of people who had never played volleyball before to where we are now in two and a half years.”
Martine Wright, whose return from injury in the London bombings has been one of the stories of the Games. added that she was happy her new-found fame had helped raise the profile of disability sport.
“I feel a responsibility to talk about disability sport, I am passionate about it,” she said. “To be honest, I will talk about sport all day long. Everyone involved in this tournament has been great and I’ve loved every minute of it. It’s been phenomenal.”
Sportsister
The Women’s Sports Magazine
