Davud Alipuriani, captain of the Iranian seated volleyball team, has not been included in the national team preparing for the upcoming Asian Paralympic Games in Nagoya, Japan.
The national team is set to begin a new training camp as part of its preparation for these games, but Alipuriani will not be among the players invited to this camp.
The last competition in which Alipuriani represented Iran was the World Championship for Seated Volleyball and the qualification tournament for the Paralympic Games in Hangzhou. In this tournament, Iran won and secured its spot at the Paralympics. Nevertheless, after this event, Alipuriani refused to join his teammates for subsequent training camps due to disagreements with the team management.
Initially, he was included in the list of 15 players invited to Iran's first training camp after the World Championship but decided not to participate in protest. Now, for the next gathering, which will be the second training camp since the World Championship, Alipuriani has been excluded from the squad. As a result, 14 players who participated in the previous camp will attend the camp.
Ali Kashfian, head of the Iranian Seated Volleyball Association, confirmed this decision and added that the dates for the new training camp will be determined soon. Since Alipuriani is no longer part of the national team, Iran will also have to appoint a new captain before the Asian Paralympic Games.
The Fifth Asian Paralympic Games will take place in Nagoya, Japan, from October 18 to 24, and the Iranian seated volleyball team will participate in the competitions as the reigning champion.