Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games:
Alamian settles for bronze in table tennis, Karimi wins historic weightlifting bronze
Iranian table tennis player Noshad Alamian had his impressive run in the men’s singles event come to an end at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games after suffering a semifinal defeat to Chinese world No. 1 Wang Chuqin on Monday.
Having defeated the host’s world No. 4 Tomokazu Harimoto in a seven-game quarterfinal thriller, Alamian lost 4-1 (11-4, 11-7, 9-11, 11-4, 11-6) to the decorated Chinese, who won the doubles and team golds at the Paris 2024 Olympics as well as the singles title at the 2025 World Championships, to collect the third Asian Games bronze medal of his career.
Alamian was part of the Iranian trio that won the team bronze at Hangzhou 2022 and also teamed with his younger brother, Nima, for a third-place finish in the doubles event.
Kurash silver
Elsewhere at the multi-sport event, Ramin Ahmadzadeh added a silver medal to Iran’s haul after suffering a setback in the final of the men’s -81kg division of the kurash competition.
The Iranian claimed emphatic 10-0 victories against opponents from Thailand and Turkmenistan before defeating Japan’s Ken Oyoshi 3-0 in the semifinals. However, a late injury during his last-four victory ultimately cost him in the final, where he was beaten 3-0 by Uzbekistan’s Akxror Ziyodullaev.
Back on track
Iran’s men’s water polo team got back to winning ways on Monday, recovering from a 12-8 setback against China the previous day to defeat South Korea 15-11 in Group B.
The two sides were tied 4-4 at the end of the first quarter and 6-6 at halftime, but Iran won the third quarter 6-2 to secure a second win in three games, having routed Singapore 19-8 in its opener.
Volleyball victory
Iran secured a second successive victory in the men’s volleyball competition, defeating Thailand 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-15) in Pool B.
Outside hitters Pouria Hosseinkhanzadeh and Ali Haqparast led the scoring for Iran with 13 points apiece, while star opposite Amin Esmaeilnejad finished with eight, as Italian head coach Roberto Piazza’s side secured a place in the quarterfinals ahead of its final preliminary-stage game against Indonesia today.
Meanwhile, Mandegar Farzami and Meshkatolzahra Safi, who had secured Iran’s first victories in the women’s tennis event at the Asian Games since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, saw their campaigns come to an end in the women’s singles second round.
Farzami suffered a 2-0 defeat (6-1, 6-1) against Joanna Garland of Chinese Taipei, while Safi was beaten by China’s former world No. 22 Zhang Shuai in similar fashion, losing 6-1, 6-0.
In weightlifting, former world champion Mirmostafa Javadi endured a below-par campaign in the men’s 85kg class, finishing fifth.
Javadi opened with a successful 158kg snatch lift but failed to hoist 163kg and 164kg on his next two attempts, finishing fourth in the discipline with his opening mark.
The Iranian once again made a promising start in the clean and jerk, successfully lifting 200kg on his first attempt. However, he failed with 209kg and 217kg on his next two attempts, finishing fourth in the clean and jerk with 200kg and fifth overall with a total of 358kg.
Iranian shooter Hanieh Rostamian also had a disappointing campaign in the women’s individual 25m pistol event.
Rostamian, who topped the qualification with a 587-25x performance, scored 14 in the final to finish seventh, failing to add to her mixed-team bronze earlier in the Games.
Weightlifting history
A weightlifting milestone was achieved for Iran on Sunday as Reihaneh Karimi won the country’s maiden women’s medal in the history of the Asian Games, claiming an impressive bronze in the 77kg category.
The Iranian failed with her opening 103kg attempt in the snatch but successfully lifted the same weight on her second attempt before completing a 107kg lift on her third.
In the clean and jerk, Karimi successfully lifted 131kg and 136kg with her first two attempts but failed to hoist 140kg on her third.
Her total of 243kg was enough to earn her the bronze medal.
China’s He Renxiu claimed gold with a total of 258kg, while Kazakhstan’s Ayanat Zhumagali took silver with 246kg.
Karimi’s historic achievement came after she lifted 26kg more than her previous personal bests, while she also defeated South Korea’s Kim Yi-seul, a former world bronze medalist, in the battle for bronze.
“Thank God, Reihaneh managed to win the bronze medal and make history today,” Iran’s women’s head coach Elham Hosseini said.
“We have been in the training camp for a long time, away from our families and facing many difficulties. Reihaneh deserved to win the silver medal today. She gave everything she had and fought hard for it.”
Hosseini dedicated the medal to the Iranian people for “supporting the country’s athletes during difficult times.”