Iran water polo captain looking to overcome China, Kazakhstan hurdles to reach final
Iran’s men’s water polo captain Mahdi Yazdankhah says the team’s main objective at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games is to defeat China and Kazakhstan and reach the final.
Iran will open its Group B campaign against Singapore on Saturday before taking on China the following day at Nagoya’s Nippon Gaishi Hall – a repeat of the two sides’ meetings, including the final, at last year’s Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad, India.
Reflecting on Iran’s final setback against China, Yazdankhah said: “China had analyzed us very well ahead of the final. The circumstances were different when we beat them in the group stage, but in the final they had a better understanding of our style of play.”
“In such matches, the teams’ performances, mistakes and the details of the game can change the result and make the difference between the two sides smaller or bigger,” added the Iranian captain, who was part of the squad when Iran defeated China in a shootout to win the 2018 Asian Games bronze in Jakarta.
Chasing a third water polo medal in the history of the multi-sport event, Iran will conclude the group stage against South Korea on Monday.
All four teams in the group are already guaranteed a place in the quarterfinals, with the final standings in the two groups determining the last-eight fixtures.
The captain identified China and Kazakhstan as Iran’s main rivals, while acknowledging Japan’s strength.
“Our main opponents in these competitions are China and Kazakhstan. Japan is also a very strong team,” he said. “Our main goal is to beat China and Kazakhstan and reach the final.”
However, Yazdankhah stressed that small details can have a major impact on water polo matches.
“Water polo is a sport in which the result can change with one goal, one pass, one shot or one defensive move. There are many fluctuations during a game, and details have a very significant impact on the course of a match,” he said.
Iran missed out on the podium at the previous edition in Hangzhou 2022 after suffering a shootout defeat to Kazakhstan in the bronze-medal contest, having also fallen to China in the group phase.