Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games:
Golshadnejad, Atrachali named Iran’s flag bearers for opening ceremony
Reigning world karate champion Atousa Golshadnejad and men's national kabaddi captain Fazel Atrachali have been named Iran's flag bearers for the opening ceremony of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) announced on Wednesday.
The 20th edition of the continental multi-sport event will get underway with the opening ceremony at Paloma Mizuho Stadium in Nagoya on September 19.
Golshadnejad will be aiming to add an Asian Games gold medal to her already impressive list of achievements following a gold-laden international campaign last year.
The 23-year-old won the second Asian Championships gold medal of her career before claiming the women's kumite -61kg title at the Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh.
The pinnacle of her season, however, came at the WKF World Championships in Cairo in November, where she etched her name into the history books by becoming the first Iranian woman to win a world karate title in the tournament's 27 editions.
"It is a great honor to carry my country's flag at an event as prestigious as the Asian Games. At the same time, it makes my responsibility even greater," Golshadnejad told IRNA.
"I hope not only our karate team but the entire Iranian delegation achieves outstanding results at the Asian Games," she said.
Golshadnejad also provided a positive update on the injury that ruled her out of defending her title at last month's Asian Championships in Bali, Indonesia.
"Fortunately, my condition is good and I have returned to training. I am highly motivated to succeed in Nagoya and complete my collection of gold medals," she said.
She also praised the unity within Iran's national karate program, saying the athletes and coaching staff work together as one family with the shared goal of raising the Iranian flag on the international stage.
Atrachali, meanwhile, is set to compete at the Asian Games for a fifth consecutive time, having helped Iran win the gold medal in 2018 after previously collecting three silver medals with the national team.
The 34-year-old, who plays for Dabang Delhi in the Indian Pro Kabaddi League, was also a member of the Iran side that finished runner-up at the 2016 Kabaddi World Cup.
The Iranian delegation – named "Angels of Minab" in memory of the 168 victims, including 120 schoolchildren, killed in a U.S.-Israeli airstrike on Shajareh Tayyebeh Elementary School in Minab, southern Iran, on February 28 – will comprise 308 athletes (214 men and 94 women) competing across 36 sports.
At the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou, China, Iran fielded 289 athletes and finished seventh in the medal standings with 13 gold, 21 silver, and 20 bronze medals – its lowest placing in the past five editions of the Games.
Iran's most successful Asian Games campaign came on home soil at Tehran 1974, where it won a record 81 medals, including an all-time high of 36 golds, to finish second behind Japan in the overall standings.
In more recent editions, Iran's best performance came at Guangzhou 2010, where it placed fourth with a haul of 20 gold, 15 silver, and 24 bronze medals.