Iran targets top-three finish at Asian Para Games, NPC chief says
Iran is targeting a top-three finish in the medals table at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games in October, said Ghafour Kargari, chairman of the country’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC).
Iran has finished in the top four in all four previous editions of the multi-sport event. Its highest position came at Hangzhou 2022, where Iran collected 131 medals – including 44 golds – to place second behind host China, which dominated with a remarkable 214 gold medals.
“Iranian athletes have already begun their training camps following the Asian Youth Para Games [in December], as we have set our sights on a top-three finish in Japan. Achieving this will require a collective effort and progress in technical and scientific areas,” Kargari said on the sidelines of the NPC’s 25th General Assembly on Monday. The assembly was also attended by Iranian Sports Minister Ahmad Donyamali, Mohammad Shervin Asbaqian, the deputy minister for professional sports development, and Mahdi Alinejad, secretary-general of the National Olympic Committee.
“We are compelled to equip ourselves with the latest equipment and scientific knowledge to avoid falling behind our competitors. Our strategy is qualitative development with a focus on new sports and athletes,” added Kargari, who hopes a strong result in October will lay the groundwork for a milestone achievement at the Los Angeles Paralympics in two years’ time.
“For the Los Angeles Paralympics, we have two goals: ranking among the top 10 countries and achieving our highest number of gold medals compared to previous editions,” Kargari said.
Iran’s highest Paralympic gold medal count is 12, achieved at both Sydney 2000 and Tokyo 2020. Its best finish in the overall standings, however, came at London 2012, where Iran’s 11 gold medals placed it 11th.
At the most recent Paralympic Games in Paris 2024, Iran won a record 25 medals – including eight golds – to finish 14th.