For the men, the twelve qualified teams were drawn in two groups with six participants each. The preliminary round was held according to the "everyone against everyone" mode. The two best teams in each group met each other in the semi-finals. The remaining teams played from places five to twelve.
For women there were two groups with four participants each. The two best teams in each group met each other in the semi-finals. The remaining teams played from places five to eight.
The games were played in Seoul from September 17th to October 2nd. The venues were Hanyang University Gymnasium, Saemaul Sports Hall and Jamsil Students' Gymnasium in the Seoul Sports Complex.
Schedule men
Preliminary round
The two semi-finals in Group A were secured by the reigning European champions from the Soviet Union and Brazil, who won the direct duel in five sets. Group B was dominated by the undefeated defending champions from the USA. Three wins and a better set ratio against France were enough for Argentina to make it to the semi-finals.
In the semifinals on September 30, the Brazilians had no chance against the Americans, who made it back to the final as they did four years ago. The opponent in the final was the Soviet selection, which Argentina also clearly defeated in three sets. Argentina won the South American duel for the bronze medal against Brazil. In the final on October 2, the Americans triumphed over the Soviet Union, repeating their Olympic victory from 1984.
In the opening match of Group A, Japan narrowly defeated the Soviet Union (19:17 in the tiebreaker), but had to leave the group win due to the poorer set ratio. The GDR team, who had triumphed over the Soviet Union at the European Championships last year , missed the semi-finals and finished bottom of the group with just one win against Japan. In Group B, Peru dominated with three wins in three games. China also reached the semi-finals, while Brazil did not win.
The GDR selection reached fifth place with two wins against the USA and Brazil. In the semifinals on September 27th, the Soviet Union won against China without any problems and moved into the final. The same was achieved by the team from Peru, who fought Japan for their third 3-2 victory in a row. China won the Asian duel for the bronze medal. In the final on September 29, Peru saw another game up to the tiebreaker, but this time the South Americans lost to the Soviet women.
.png)
Soviet Union
Argentina
United States
.svg){kind=small}
Brazil
Netherlands
Sweden
.svg){kind=small}
Bulgaria
France
Italy
Tunisia
Japan
South Korea
People's Republic of China
Peru
German Democratic Republic
