2026 Sanya Beach Games: Soccer, handball add more gold medals to Iran’s tally  

Iran’s beach soccer and beach handball teams both clinched gold medals at the Asian Beach Games in Sanya on Wednesday, delivering a powerful performance in a show of the country’s growing dominance in continental beach sports.

The national beach soccer team defeated Oman 6-2 in the final to secure their third Asian championship title.

The team had previously won gold at the 2012 and 2014 editions of the games.

The 2026 victory in Sanya marked a triumphant return to the top of the podium after a lengthy hiatus.

The match, played under sunny skies, saw the Iranian side dominate from the start, netting six goals while conceding only two matches.

Moreover, Iran’s beach handball team made history by winning gold in their very first appearance at the Asian Games.

The Iranian players faced Qatar, a team composed of several dual-nationality athletes that had won the previous three consecutive Asian beach handball titles.

The final was closely contested, but Iran fought hard to secure a 2-1 victory, defeating the most decorated team in the competition’s history.

Previoustly, Iran’s beach wrestling squad delivered a flawless campaign at the 2026 Asian Beach Games as the four-member team captured all four gold medals in the men’s categories.

Iranian men’s volleyball team also won a silver medal on Wednesday.

The Iranian delegation has excelled across the board, with gold medals also coming in kabaddi, shot put, and water polo.

The national beach kabaddi team secured the gold medal by defeating strong India in Monday’s final, capping an undefeated run that included victories over Pakistan, Bangladesh, Syria and Sri Lanka.

The competitions, which opened on April 22 and will wrap up on April 30, have seen Iran deliver a memorable performance despite the difficult circumstances of a recent war of aggression imposed by the United States and Israel.

Throughout the games, Iranian athletes have paid tribute to the martyred sailors of the IRIS Dena destroyer at the opening ceremony, dedicating their victories to the defenders of the homeland.

Hosted by the coastal city of Sanya in China’s Hainan province, the event brought together approximately 2,000 athletes from more than 40 Asian nations.

These competitors gathered to vie for medals across 14 diverse sporting disciplines, ranging from beach kabaddi and beach volleyball to surfing and open water swimming.

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