Lithuania men's national goalball team is the men's national team of Lithuania. Goalball is a team sport designed specifically for athletes with a vision impairment. It takes part in international competitions.
Members of the team participate in the several international tournaments each year within the country at the capital Vilnius and the Paralympic training centre nearby at historic Trakai.
The team competed in the 2016 Summer Paralympics, with competition from Thursday 8 September to finals on Friday 16 September 2016, in the temporary Future Arena, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.[2] They won the gold medal.
The following is the Lithuania roster in the men's goalball tournament of the 2016 Summer Paralympics.[3]
The team competed in the 2020 Summer Paralympics, with competition from Wednesday 25 August to finals on Friday 3 September 2021, in the Makuhari Messe arena, Chiba, Tokyo, Japan. They qualified at the 2019 IBSA Goalball Paralympic Ranking Tournament at Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States of America.
The team finished as bronze medalists, behind China, and Brazil.
The following is the Lithuania roster in the men's goalball tournament of the 2020 Summer Paralympics.[4]
The team competed in the 2014 World Championships from 30 June to 5 July 2014, in Espoo, Finland. They were in Pool B, won their quarter-finals defeating the Czech Republic 11:6, but were mercied by Brazil 14:0 in the semi-finals. In the bronze medal match, they were defeated by the United States, 2:4.[5]
Athletes: Mantas Brazauskis (#4), Saulius Leonavicius (#5), Montvydas Nerijus (#1), Mantas Panovas (#6), Genrik Pavliukianec (#7), and Marius Zibolis (#8).
2018 Malmö
The team competed in the 2018 World Championships from 3 to 8 June 2018, at the Baltiska Hallen, Malmö, Sweden. They placed second in Pool A winning six of their seven games, beating the United States 7:4 in the quarter-finals, before being beaten by Brazil in the semi-finals 6:7. For the third place playoffs, they were beaten by Belgium 2:9. The team was fourth in final standings.[5]
The team competed in the 2022 World Championships from 7 to 16 December 2022, at the Centro de Desportos e Congressos de Matosinhos, Portugal. There were sixteen men's and sixteen women's teams. They placed second in Pool D, and fourth in final standings.[6]
The team competed in the 2015 IBSA World Games from 10 to 17 May 2015, in Seoul, South Korea.[5] Beating China 10:3, the team took the gold medal.
Lithuania line-up in a game with Australia (May 2015).
Lithuania throwing towards Japan (May 2015).
Awaiting medal presentation (May 2015).
Regional championships
The team competes in the IBSA Europe goalball region.[7] Groups A and C are held one year, and Group B the following year. Strong teams move towards Group A.
2013 Konya (Group A)
The team competed in the 2013 IBSA Goalball European Championships, Group A, from 1 to 11 November 2013, at Konya, Turkey.[8] They beat Finland in the quarter-finals, 9:5, mercied Germany in the semi-finals 13:3, going onto beat Spain in the finals, 4:2.[5]
2015 Kaunas (Group A)
The team competed in the 2015 IBSA Goalball European A Championships, from 5 to 12 July 2015, in Kaunas, Lithuania. The tournament was organised by the Lithuanian Blind Sports Federation. Beating Ukraine 13:8 in the quarter-finals, they went on to lose to Finland 5:13. They mercied Czech Republic 15:5, to take third place.[5]
2017 Pajulahti (Group A)
The team competed in the 2017 IBSA Goalball European A Championships from 15 to 23 September 2017, at Pajulahti, Nastola, Finland. They placed first, beating Germany 6:3.[5]
Athletes included: Nerijus Montvydas, Justas Pazarauskas (highest goalscorer of the tournament), Mindaugas Suchojevus, and Marius Zibolis.
2019 Rostock (Group A)
The team competed in the 2019 IBSA Goalball European A Championships from 5 to 14 October 2019, in Rostock, Germany. They placed third in the final standings.[5]
Athletes included: Arturas Jonikaitis (centre), Nerijus Montvydas, Mantas Panovas, Justas Pazarauskas, and Marius Zibolis.