Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games:
Iran retains sitting volleyball dominance, wins triple gold in athletics
Iran’s men’s sitting volleyball team defeated Kazakhstan in straight sets (25-17, 25-15, 25-17) in Friday’s final to win gold at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, securing the title for the fifth consecutive time since the multi-sport event was first held in 2010.
Iranians also enjoyed success elsewhere on the penultimate day of competition, collecting a host of medals, including three golds, in para athletics.
There was an all-Iranian one-two in the men’s F34 shot put, as world record holder Mehran Nekoueimajd claimed gold with a throw of 11.9 meters on his fourth attempt, while compatriot Mohammad-Taha Beygrezaei settled for silver with 11.61m.
Mahdi Olad, who had won silver in the shot put earlier in the Games, posted a season-best 40.65m to claim gold in the men’s F11 discus throw. The event was dominated by Iranians, with Hassan Bajoulvand and Amirhossein Alipour taking silver and bronze, respectively.
Elham Salehi spearheaded Iran’s medal hunt in women’s para athletics on Friday, winning gold in the F54/F53 shot put.
Salehi, who had also won gold in the javelin throw on Monday, registered 6.79m to beat compatriot Shahla Hadidi, who finished second with 5.86m.
Elsewhere at Paloma Mizuho Stadium, Hanan Kaab Omeir in the women’s discus throw and Hormoz Seidi in the men’s javelin throw won silver medals in their respective classes, while Farzaneh Sohrabi Tabar in the women’s discus throw and Fatemeh Amirzadegani in the women’s long jump added two bronze medals to Iran’s para athletics haul.
In men’s blind football, Hossein Rajabpour and Morteza Karimi scored within three minutes of each other in the first half as Iran came from behind to beat Thailand 2-1 in the bronze-medal match.
Iran also claimed bronze in para archery, with Somayeh and Gholamreza Rahimi teaming up to beat India’s pair 5-4 in the mixed recurve team bronze-medal match.
Abolfazl Zarifpour, meanwhile, took Iran’s medal tally in para swimming to 13 by winning bronze in the men’s 100m freestyle S9 final.
Friday’s achievements followed another medal-laden day for Iran across several sports, with the delegation collecting five golds on Thursday.
Sina Zeighaminejad claimed two swimming titles in the men’s events, while Hajar Safarzadeh clocked 56.43 seconds to win gold in the women’s 400m T12, breaking the Asian Para Games record in the process. Two-time Paralympic champion Saeid Afrooz also set a world record of 42.58m to claim gold in the men’s F33/F34 javelin throw.
In para powerlifting, reigning Paralympic champion Ahmad Aminzadeh won the men’s +107kg title with a lift of 260kg, finishing 20kg ahead of Iranian silver medalist Mahdi Sayyadi.