Sawt Falasteen - Morteza Mehrzad, the 'giant' lynchpin of Iran's sitting volleyball team

At an imposing 2.46 metres (8 ft 0.85 in), Mehrzad is the second tallest living man in the world and the tallest athlete ever to compete in the Paralympics, according to the International Paralympic Committee website.

In 2015, the 36-year-old joined Iran's national sitting volleyball team after the coach spotted him on a reality TV show about people grappling with life difficulties.

His life has since taken a turn for the better.

"I have always been called the 'tall boy' even before joining the national team or the Paralympic Games," he told AFP after a training session at Iran's Sports Federation for the Disabled in Tehran.

"Playing sitting volleyball helped me a lot," he said.

"The physique that I once considered as very bad has helped me in this game, and I could make good use of it."

Along with his team, he is preparing for the 2024 Paris Paralympics which start on Wednesday.

- 'Turning limitations into opportunities' -

Mehrzad was diagnosed at a young age with acromegaly, a rare condition due to excessive growth hormone.

During his teenage years, he had a bicycle accident, injuring his pelvis and stunting the growth in his right leg which is now around six inches shorter than his left leg.

"I turned limitations into opportunities," said Mehrzad.

"I cannot say those limitations totally went away, but they lessened over time since joining the team."

He still recalls how "challenging" it was to attend his first international championship in China in 2016 and his first Paralympic Games in Rio that same year, where his team won gold.

"It was both difficult and interesting for me," he said.

"The atmosphere there and the expectation from us to win gold were very difficult for me."

Mehrzad's towering height has been a crucial asset for Iran's sitting volleyball team for years, compelling rival teams to reconsider their strategies.

He own gold medals in the 2016 and 2020 Summer Paralympics and earned the Gold Ball for the world's best player in 2019, 2021 and 2022.

Iranian media has over the years hailed him as a "fatal weapon" and "the kind giant".

"I appreciate being called the best in the game, but I'm not," he said.

"Each of our guys is the best... and we make the best team in the world."

- 'The best are in Iran' -

Mehrzad says joining Iran's national sitting volleyball team has helped him through some personal crises including the death of his mother in 2019.

The experience, he says, "was and still is painful... but volleyball helped me a lot, not to forget, but to move past it."

Iran has participated in the sitting volleyball Paralympic Games since 1988 in Seoul, emerging as champions seven out of nine times, a remarkable record.

Now, the team is putting the final touches to its Paralympics preparations before they face off against Ukraine, Brazil and Germany.

"Our main rival is Bosnia... although we should not underestimate Brazil, Germany, and Egypt," said Mehrzad.

In the 2022 world championship in Sarajevo, Iran beat Bosnia and Herzegovina 3-0.

"The morale of the team is very high," said Mehrzad. "The guys are very good and prepared," referring to his teammates.

"The best (players) are in Iran," he added.

N.Awad--SF-PST