Taipei Asian Open 2026:
Iranian judokas bag silver, bronze in men’s event
Iranian judokas won one silver and one bronze medal at the 2026 Taipei Asian Open in Chinese Taipei.
Elyas Parhizgar claimed silver in the men’s -81kg class on Sunday, while Abolfazl Mahmoudi secured a shared bronze in the -66kg event.
Parhizgar, who has collected three gold medals on this year’s African Open circuit, opened his campaign with a victory over South Korea’s Kang Ryongku before defeating Lithuania’s Algirdas Zulys to reach the semifinals.
The former Asian junior silver medalist then beat South Korea’s Ko Jae Kyoung to book his place in the final, where he fell to another South Korean, Park Heewon, in the gold-medal contest.
Mahmoudi, meanwhile, bounced back from a semifinal defeat to South Korea’s Ryu Seunghwan by beating Jeon Seungbeom to earn a shared bronze alongside Kazakhstan’s Nursultan Zaizagaliev.
Elsewhere, another Iran-South Korea clash saw Amirabbas Choopan lose to Lim Seong in the round of 16 of the men’s -90kg event.
In the women’s competition, Iran’s Maryam Barbat narrowly missed out on a medal in the -78kg category after losing to South Korea’s Lee Jeongyun.
The two-day tournament formed part of Iran’s preparations for September’s Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, although the country has yet to confirm its men’s and women’s squads for the continental multi-sport event.
Iranian Judo Federation president Arash Miresmaeili said in June that the country had been allocated six quota places for the Asian Games. However, Azerbaijani head coach Rashad Mammadov will have the final say on the selection of Iran’s representatives, with medal prospects taking precedence over filling all available quota spots.