Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games:
Iran off to winning start in volleyball, Zarei makes history in athletics
Iran’s bid for a fourth successive men’s volleyball gold medal at the Asian Games got off to an emphatic start at Aichi-Nagoya 2026 with a 3-0 victory (25-11, 25-16, 25-20) over Kyrgyzstan on Sunday.
Star opposite Amin Esmaeilnejad spearheaded Iran with a game-high 20 points, with middle blocker Yousef Kazemi adding 15. Outside hitters Mobin Nasri and Ali Haqparast also reached double figures, contributing 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Entering the multi-sport event on the back of a final setback against Japan at the Asian Championship a fortnight ago, Iran will take on Thailand next in Pool B today before concluding the preliminary stage against Indonesia on Tuesday.
The top two teams in the group will advance to the quarterfinals.
“We had an easy game today. On the one hand, I am happy that we won in straight sets, but on the other hand, I am disappointed because we could have played much better,” Iran head coach Roberto Piazza said after the game.
Piazza dismissed the suggestion that Iran’s matches in the group would be equally comfortable, saying: “The only easy game for Iran in this tournament was this one. Even in our group, Thailand and Indonesia play at a different level and are tough opponents. We will have difficult games against them.”
Piazza refused to look too far ahead when asked whether his side could reach the final and defend its title.
“To reach the final, we have to deserve it by beating other teams.
“Just as I did not talk about Japan a few weeks ago at the Asian Championship, I am not saying now that we will be in the final. We have to move forward day by day and show that we deserve to reach the final.”
Elsewhere on Sunday, Meshkatolzahra Safi and Mandegar Farzami secured Iran’s first victories in the women’s tennis event at the Asian Games since the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Safi made quick work of Tajikistan’s Shakhzoda Asimova in the singles first round, winning in straight sets (6-0, 6-1), while Farzami defeated Uzbekistan’s Sevi Yuldasheva 2-0 (7-5, 6-3).
In the men’s doubles, however, the Iranian pair of Ali Yazdani and Kasra Rahmani suffered a 2-0 defeat (6-4, 6-4) against China’s Fumin Jiang and Tianhui Zhang in the first round.
In water polo, Iran’s men’s team, having beaten Singapore 19-8 in its Group B opener on the previous day, suffered a 12-8 defeat against China in a repeat of the final at last year’s Asian Aquatics Championships in Ahmedabad, India, where China also emerged victorious.
Athletics history
Zahra Zarei wrote her name into the history of Iranian sport on Saturday by winning the country’s maiden women’s athletics medal at the Asian Games, claiming silver in the 400m event.
The Iranian sprinter clocked 52.38 seconds in the final to finish behind Bahrain’s Salwa Naser, who set a new Asian Games record of 49.20 seconds.
The pinnacle of Iran’s athletics campaign, however, came in the men’s competition, where Mohammadreza Tayyebi secured the gold medal in the shot put.
A gold medalist at last year’s Asian Championships, Tayyebi posted an Asian Games record of 20.81m with his second attempt – 49 centimeters farther than his gold-winning throw at the continental championships – to add a second men’s medal to Iran’s athletics haul, after compatriot Sadeq Samimi’s bronze in the discus throw.
Alamian set for podium
Noshad Alamian stole the headlines in table tennis by defeating home favorite and world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto 4-3 (11-9, 11-7, 3-11, 11-6, 14-16, 6-11, 11-9) in a thrilling quarterfinal in the men’s singles event on Sunday, ensuring Iran would finish the Games with at least a bronze medal in the sport.
Standing between the Iranian, who won bronze in the team and doubles events – the latter alongside his brother Nima – and a place in the final in Monday’s semifinal is world No. 1 and 2025 world champion Wang Chuqin of China.