Bosnia and Herzegovina national sitting volleyball team

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina
Savez sjedeće odbojke Bosne i Hercegovine
Nickname(s)Zlatni Ljiljani (Golden Lilies), Zmajevi (Dragons)
AssociationAssociation of sitting volleyball of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Head coachMirza Hrustemović
Uniforms
Home
Away
Summer Paralympics
Appearances5 since 2000
Best result (2) 2004, 2012
World Championship
Appearances5 since 1998
Best result (3) 2002, 2006, 2014
Sitting Volleyball European Championships
Appearances11 since 1995
Best result (11) 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2013, 2015, 2021, 2023
Websitessobih.org (in Bosnian) ;

The Bosnia and Herzegovina men's national sitting volleyball team (Bosnian: Reprezentacija Bosne i Hercegovine u sjedećoj odbojci; Croatian: Reprezenacija Bosne i Hercegovine u sjedećoj odbojci; Serbian: Репрезентација Босне и Херцеговине у сједећој одбојци) represents Bosnia and Herzegovina in international sitting volleyball competitions and friendly matches. Bosnia is one of the dominant forces in sitting volleyball worldwide, alongside Iran.[1] The team won a bronze medal, during ECVD European Championships in 1997 in Tallinn. It took nearly two decades later for the nation to win a medal outside the sport of sitting volleyball when Amel Tuka won bronze during 2015 World Championships in Athletics.[2]

The team is the most decorated in Bosnia and Herzegovina sport having won 2 paralympic volleyball gold medals, 3 paralympic silver medals, 3 World Cup titles, and 9 won European Championships straight.[3] The team won World titles and European titles either side of winning Paralympics Gold in 2004 Athens. The team is a member of the world (WOVD) and European (ECVD) sitting volleyball governing bodies.[4]

It is governed by the Association of sitting volleyball of Bosnia and Herzegovina (Savez sjedeće odbojke BiH). Until 1992, Bosnian players like Ševko Nuhanović were part of the Yugoslav national sitting volleyball team.[5][6]

History[edit]

Bosnia and Herzegovina national sitting volleyball team at the 2016 Summer Paralympics

Prior to 1992, during the Yugoslavia days, the beginnings of the team started to take its form. Players were part of Sarajevo based Uporni Sitting Volleyball Club which were champions of Yugoslavia three times in a row.[7] Bosnia and Herzegovina men's sitting volleyball team includes athletes who were deeply affected by the Bosnian War (6 April 1992 – 14 December 1995). Due to the large number of people injured in the conflict, the country started to invest more in Paralympic sports. Captain Sabahudin Delalić fought for the Bosnian army and lost part of his right leg after a wall fell on him. Safet Alibašić lost one of his legs when he stepped on a landmine.

The first major tournament participation came in during 1995 European championship. During its qualification phase[8] in early December 1994, the team (all players from Sarajevo club SDI Spid), traveled to Zagreb on a bus riddled with bullet holes in temperatures of 17 degrees below zero.[9] Bosnia along with Austria were the only nations to travel to play Croatia in the qualification tournament (out of 11 invited). Croatia finished undefeated with victories over Austria 3:0 (15:5, 15:8, 16:14) and Bosnia (15:6, 15:8, 15:11). Bosnia beat Austria, however all 3 nations qualified for the finals.

Team made their Paralympic Games debut at Sydney 2000 and won silver. There were five total Paralympic podium finishes in sitting volleyball for Bosnia and Herzegovina. They are the only medals in Olympic and Paralympic Games as an independent nation (from Yugoslavia). The 800 metres distance runner Amel Tuka holds the only other prestigious medal for Bosnia and Herzegovina, a bronze at 2015 World Championships in Athletics in Beijing.

On 21 June 2014, Edin Džeko congratulated the BiH men's national sitting volleyball team after they won 2014 Sitting Volleyball World Championships title, stating "You are our pride and inspiration".[10]

On 10 September 2012, Basketball Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina congratulated the BiH sitting volleyball team upon their paralympic gold medal win at 2012 Summer Paralympics in London, saying "You are a pride of our nation", [11] as did NFSBiH (normalization committee) with Ivica Osim at the head.[12]

Success formula

Height, experience and strong club league are key to success in the sitting volleyball.[13] 80% of the Bosnian national team players come from Sarajevo based and Europe's top two sitting volleyball club sides; SDI Spid and OKI Fantomi.[14] Height is a critical aspect of successful team as was case with Iranian national team winning gold over Bosnia at Rio 2016 Paralympics final due to height advantage of tallest Paralympian Morteza Mehrzadselakjani at 2.46m (8ft 1in),[15] giving his team an advantage in his ability to both block at the net and fire over returns from a much higher trajectory.[16] In the Rio final; Mehrzadselakjani was top scorer for Iran with 28 points. Safet Alibašić top scored for BIH with 16 points. Fastest serve came from Adnan Manko at 68 km/h.[17] Sport investment, financial backing and sprint velocities[18] are other key factors.[19]

Style of play

Bosnia play an attacking style of volleyball.[citation needed]

Nickname

A popular nickname of all Bosnian sport players and/or teams is the Zmajevi or Dragons in English alluding to the famous Bosnian general Husein Gradaščević who fought for Bosnian independence and who was known as the "Dragon of Bosnia". In foreign media, they are sometimes referred to as the Golden Lilies, in reference to the golden lily featured on the coat of arms of the influential Bosnian medieval Kotromanić dynasty.

Sponsorship

Team is sponsored by Sarajevo based telecommunication company BH Telecom d.d. since 1996.[20]

Honours[edit]

Seniors Competitive record[edit]

Paralympic Games[edit]

[21][22]

Year Rank Pld Wins Loss Set F Set A
Part of Yugoslavia
Netherlands 1980 Arnhem 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) Bronze 5 3 2 10 9
United States 1984 New York 5th place 5 3 2 11 7
South Korea 1988 Seoul 4th place 6 3 3 13 12
Total 16 9 7 34 28
as Bosnia and Herzegovina
Spain 1992 Barcelona Did not enter
United States 1996 Atlanta Did not qualify
Australia 2000 Sydney  Silver 8 5 3 15 11
Greece 2004 Athens  Gold 6 6 0 18 2
China 2008 Beijing  Silver 5 4 1 12 4
United Kingdom 2012 London  Gold 7 6 1 19 4
Brazil 2016 Rio  Silver 5 3 2 10 6
Japan 2020 Tokyo  Bronze 5 3 2 9 7
Total 2 Titles 36 27 9 83 34

World Para Volleyball Championship[edit]

[23]

Year Rank Pld Wins Loss Set F Set A
Part of Yugoslavia
Netherlands 1983 Delden 5th place
Norway 1985 Kristiansand Runners-up
Hungary 1986 Pécs 4th place
United States 1989 Las Vegas Did not enter
Netherlands 1990 Assen 3rd place
Total
as Bosnia and Herzegovina
Germany 1994 Bottrop Did not enter
Iran 1998 Tehran 3rd place 8 7 1 23 4
Egypt 2002 Cairo Champions 7 6 1 19 3
Netherlands 2006 Roermond Champions 8 8 0 24 2
United States 2010 Edmond Runners-up 7 6 1 20 4
Poland 2014 Elblag Champions 6 6 0 18 2
Netherlands 2018 Hague[24] Runners-up 6 5 1 15 5
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2022 Sarajevo Runners-up 7 6 1 18 4
Total 3 Titles 49 44 5 137 24

European Championships[edit]

[23]

Year Rank Pld Wins Loss Set F Set A
Part of Yugoslavia
Germany 1981 Bonn 5th place
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia 1987 Sarajevo Runners-up
United Kingdom 1991 Nottingham
Total
as Bosnia and Herzegovina
Finland 1993 Järvenpää Did not enter
Slovenia 1995 Ljubljana 11th place
Estonia 1997 Tallinn 3rd place
Bosnia and Herzegovina 1999 Sarajevo Champions 5 5 0 15 0
Hungary 2001 Sárospatak Champions 5 5 0 15 1
Finland 2003 Lappeenranta Champions 5 5 0 15 1
Germany 2005 Leverkusen Champions 7 7 0 21 1
Hungary 2007 Nyíregyháza Champions 7 7 0 21 4
Poland 2009 Elblag Champions 6 6 0 18 1
Netherlands 2011 Rotterdam Champions 7 7 0 21 2
Poland 2013 Elblag Champions 5 5 0 15 0
Germany 2015 Warendorf Champions 6 6 0 18 0
Croatia 2017 Poreč 3rd place 6* 5 1 17 3
Hungary 2019 Budapest Runners-up 8 7 1 24 2
Turkey 2021 Kemer Champions 7 7 0 21 1
Italy 2023 Caorle Champions 8 8 0 24 2
Total 11 Titles 82 80 2 245 18
  • Bosnia played 1 extra opponent in group stage of 2017 championship while Russia/Ukraine/Croatia (other semi-final sides) played 1 less.

Minor tournaments[edit]

Note: WOVD Intercontinental Cup tournaments serve as Paralympic qualifiers.
In 2005 Sarajevo competition; club Sdi Spid faced Iran in the final.
[23]

Year Tournament Position
Bosnia and Herzegovina 2005 Sarajevo WOVD World Cup Clubs entered
Egypt 2008 Ismailia WOVD Intercontinental Cup 3rd place
Egypt 2010 Port Said WOVD World Cup Did not enter
England 2011 Kettering Continental Cup Champions
Egypt 2012 Cairo WOVD Intercontinental Cup Did not enter
China 2016 Anji WOVD Intercontinental Cup Did not enter
Iran 2018 Tabriz Men's World Super 6 3rd place

Juniors Competitive record[edit]

[25][26]

Coaches[edit]

[30][31]

Coaching staff[edit]

Position Name Active
Head coach Bosnia and Herzegovina Ifet Mahmutović 2021–present
Assistant coach Bosnia and Herzegovina Ejub Mehmedović 1996–present
Co-Trainer Bosnia and Herzegovina Zikret Mahmutović 1996–present
Team manager Bosnia and Herzegovina Miralem Zubović 1996–?
Team Economist Bosnia and Herzegovina Dževad Šabeta 1996–present

Players[edit]

Players rosters

Players called up for 2016 Summer Paralympics:[32]

Head coach: Mirza Hrustemović

Name Date of birth Position 2016 club
1 Ismet Godinjak 17 March 1973 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
2 Adnan Manko 16 January 1977 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
4 Adnan Kešmer 11 October 1986 L Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
5 Asim Medić 3 August 1969 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
6 Mirzet Duran 13 October 1986 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
7 Nizam Čančar 17 September 1975 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
8 Dževad Hamzić 4 September 1968 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
9 Benis Kadrić 28 January 1987 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
10 Safet Alibašić 21 December 1982 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
11 Sabahudin Delalić 17 August 1972 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid
12 Ermin Jusufović 31 May 1981 M Bosnia and Herzegovina SKISO "Sinovi Bosne"
13 Armin Šehić 11 May 1994 M Bosnia and Herzegovina KSO Spid

Players called up for 2015 European Championships:[33]

Sabahudin Delalić (captain), Dževad Hamzić, Asim Medić, Safet Alibašić, Beniz Kadrić, Ermin Jusufović, Muhamed Kapetanović, Nizam Čančar, Ismet Godinjak, Adnan Manko, Mirzet Duran, Adnan Kešmer, Edin Džino, Armin Šehić, Jasmin Brkić, Adin Likić, Damir Grbić.

Players called up for 2012 Summer Paralympics:

The following is the Bosnian roster in the men's volleyball tournament of the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[34]

Head coach: Mirza Hrustemović

Name Date of birth Position 2012 club
1 Ismet Godinjak 17 March 1973 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
2 Adnan Manko 16 January 1977 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
4 Adnan Kešmer 11 October 1986 L Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
5 Asim Medić 3 August 1969 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina Sdi Spid
6 Mirzet Duran 13 October 1986 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
7 Nizam Čančar 17 September 1975 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
8 Dževad Hamzić 4 September 1968 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina Sdi Spid
9 Benis Kadrić 28 January 1987 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI Fantomi
10 Safet Alibašić 21 December 1982 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina Sdi Spid
11 Sabahudin Delalić 17 August 1972 UN Bosnia and Herzegovina Sdi Spid
12 Ermin Jusufović 31 May 1981 M Bosnia and Herzegovina SKISO "Sinovi Bosne"

Players called up for 2008 Summer Paralympics:

Safet Alibašić, Sabahudin Delalić (captain), Mirzet Duran, Esad Durmišević, Ismet Godinjak, Dževad Hamzić, Ermin Jusufović, Hidaet Jusufović (libero), Zikret Mahmić, Adnan Manko, Asim Medić, Ejub Mehmedović.

Players called up for 2004 Summer Paralympics:

Dževad Hamzić, Nedzad Salkić, Safet Alibašić, Sabahudin Delalić, Ermin Jusufović, Zikret Mahmić, Fikret Causević, Asim Medić, Esad Durmisević, Ejub Mehmedović, Adnan Manko, Ismet Godinjak.

Players called up for 2000 Summer Paralympics:

Dževad Hamzić, Nedžad Salkić, Abid Čišija, Sabahudin Delalić, Nevzet Alić, Zikret Mahmić, Fikret Čausević, Asim Medić, Edin Ibraković, Ševko Nuhanović, Adnan Manko, Ismet Godinjak.

The players in the B&H national side predominantly are selected from two biggest clubs from Bosnia and Herzegovina:KSO Spid Sarajevo and OKI Fantomi Sarajevo (Volleyball Club Invalids Phantoms). The sitting volleyball clubs started by gathering mostly war veterans handicapped during Bosnian War. Both clubs are multiple league champions at home.

KSO Spid[edit]

KSO Spid was founded on 5 April 1994.

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Sitting Volleyball Championship:
    • Winners (16): 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020.
    • Runners-Up (4): 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Sitting Volleyball National Cup:
    • Winners (2): 1999, 2000.
  • Sitting Volleyball Champions League:
    • Winners (7): 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2010
    • Runners-Up (4): 1998, 1999, 2004, 2007.
    • 3rd Place (1): 2008.
  • Sitting Volleyball World Club Championship:
    • Runners-Up (2): 2003, 2005.
  • Sitting Volleyball Sarajevo Open:
    • Winners (1): 2004.

OKI Fantomi[edit]

OKI "Phantom" were established in 1995 in Sarajevo.

  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Sitting Volleyball Championship:
    • Winners (5): 1996, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2009
    • Runners-Up (8): 1997, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2012.
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina Sitting Volleyball National Cup:
    • Winners (1): 2009
  • Sitting Volleyball Champions League:
    • Winners (3): 2004, 2007, 2008.
    • Runners-Up (4): 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011.
    • 3rd Place (1): 2001.
  • Sitting Volleyball Sarajevo Open:
    • Winners (12): 2002, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016.
    • Runners-Up (3): 2004, 2005, 2013.

Sarajevo Open[edit]

Organised annually by OKI Fantomi volleyball club, Sarajevo Open has grown into a tournament of prestige[35] for national teams and elite club sides and is a highly rated calendar event by participants.

Sarajevo Open Gold medal game Bronze medal game
Gold Score Silver Bronze Score Fourth place
2002 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (1) Croatia SDI HRABRI Zagreb Slovenia Paras Ljubljana Bosnia and Herzegovina Banja Luka
2003 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (2) 3:0 Hungary PIREMON SE
2004 Bosnia and Herzegovina SDI Spid Sarajevo (1 title) 3:0 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo
2005 Iran Iran (National team) (1) 3:0 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo
2006 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (3) 3:0 Egypt Egypt (National team)
2007 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (4) 3:2 Russia AVS Rodnik Germany Germany (National team) 3:1 Croatia Croatia (National team)
2008 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (5) 3:0 Russia Russia (National team) Iran Mazanderan 3:1 Hungary PIREMON SE
2009 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (6) 3:0 Germany Germany (National team) Russia Russia (National team) 3:0 Brazil Brazil (National team)
2010[36] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (7) 3:1 Iran Iran (National team) Russia Russia (National team) 3:0 Germany Germany (National team)
2011[37] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (8) 3:0 Russia Russia (National team) Croatia SDI "HRABRI" 3:0 Germany TSV "BAYER 04" LEVERKUSEN
2012[38] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (9) 3:1 Russia Russia (National team) Bosnia and Herzegovina "ČELIK '07" Zenica 3:2 Germany Germany (National team)
2013[39][40] Russia Russia (National team) (1) 3:1 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo Brazil Brazil (National team) 3:0 Netherlands Netherlands (National team)
2014[41] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (10) 3:0 Russia Russia (National team) Brazil Brazil (National team) 3:1 Germany Germany (National team)
2015[42] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (11) 3:1 Brazil Brazil (National team) Russia Russia (National team) 3:0 Germany BAYER
2016[43] Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo (12) 3:1 Russia Russia (National team) Germany Germany (National team) 3:0 Egypt Egypt (National team)
2017[44] Russia Russia (National team) (2) 3:1 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo Azerbaijan Azerbaijan (National team) 3:0 Bosnia and Herzegovina OKI "ILIDŽA" Sarajevo

International trust fund for demining and mine victims assistance (ITF) is a sponsor of OKI "FANTOMI" Sarajevo and Sarajevo Open.[45][46]

Results[edit]

All-time team results

1994–1999

2000–2009

2010–present

Legend

Win Loss

Statistics[edit]

Most appearances – All time list[edit]

Sorted by date of birth as it is difficult to know exact number of appearances.[77] Most appearances during career playing for Bosnia and Herz. Former Yugoslavia statistics where applicable not included.[78][79]

# Name Age Career
1 (1958-09-17) 17 September 1958 (age 65) 1994–2000
2 (1959-10-01) 1 October 1959 (age 64) 1994–1999
3 (1961-01-05) 5 January 1961 (age 63) 1999–2002
4 (1968-09-04) 4 September 1968 (age 55) 1994–present
5 (1968-10-18) 18 October 1968 (age 55) 1999 – ?
6 (1969-08-03) 3 August 1969 (age 54) 1997–present
7 (1969-10-26) 26 October 1969 (age 54) 1997 – ?
8 (1971-01-04) 4 January 1971 (age 53) 1995 – ?
9 (1972-08-17) 17 August 1972 (age 51) 1994–present
10 (1972-01-22) 22 January 1972 (age 52) 2001 – ?
11 (1973-05-13) 13 May 1973 (age 50) 1995 – ?
12 (1973-03-17) 17 March 1973 (age 51) 1994–present
13 (1973-12-09) 9 December 1973 (age 50) ? – ?
14 (1974-10-08) 8 October 1974 (age 49) ? – ?
15 (1975-09-17) 17 September 1975 (age 48) 1994–present
16 (1977-01-16) 16 January 1977 (age 47) 1994–present
17 (1981-05-31) 31 May 1981 (age 42) 2001–present
18 (1982-12-21) 21 December 1982 (age 41) 2002–present
19 (1986-10-13) 13 October 1986 (age 37) 2007–present
20 (1986-10-11) 11 October 1986 (age 37) 2011–present
21 (1991-03-24) 24 March 1991 (age 33) 2017–present
22 (1994-04-11) 11 April 1994 (age 30) 2013–present

Multiple gold medalists at Paralympics[edit]

This is a list of multiple Paralympics gold medalists for Bosnia in sitting volleyball, listing people who have won two or more gold medals (sorted by gold medal first).

Athlete Sport Paralympics Gold Gold Para Silver Silver Para Bronze Bronze Total
Adnan Manko Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2000, 2008, 2016 3 0 5
Asim Medić Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2000, 2008, 2016 3 0 5
Dževad Hamzić Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2000, 2008, 2016 3 0 5
Ismet Godinjak Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2000, 2008, 2016 3 0 5
Sabahudin Delalić Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2000, 2008, 2016 3 0 5
Ermin Jusufović Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2008, 2016 2 0 4
Safet Alibašić Sitting Volleyball 2004, 2012 2 2008, 2016 2 0 4

Biggest wins by Bosnia[edit]

Table sorted by points conceded (scored against BiH) in straight sets win (least to most).

# Opponent Result Pts agst. Competition
1. Greece Greece
3:0 (25:4, 25:5, 25:6)[80]
15 pts 2007 European Championships
2. Greece Greece
3:0 (25:7, 25:6, 25:7)
20 pts 2005 European Championships
3. Serbia Serbia
3:0 (25:9, 25:7, 25:8)[81]
24 pts 2013 European Championships
=4. Croatia Croatia