Iran women strike gold as karate team finishes runner-up at Asian championships
Iran's women's kumite team won gold while the national karate delegation secured an overall runner-up finish at the 22nd Asian Senior Karate Championships in Bali, Indonesia.
The June 19-21 tournament brought together competitors from 33 countries across the continent.
Iran ended the championships with three gold medals, one silver and five bronze medals to finish second in the overall standings behind Japan. Kazakhstan placed third.
The Iranian women produced one of the highlights of the competition.
They defeated Chinese Taipei, Uzbekistan and Vietnam to reach the team kumite final before overcoming Japan 2-0 to claim the Asian title.
Hananeh Salehi opened the way to victory by winning on senshu after a 2-2 draw. Fatemeh Zahra Saeidabadi then sealed the gold with a commanding 10-2 victory over her Japanese opponent.
Iran's other gold medals came through brothers Morteza and Mahmoud Nemati on the final day of competition.
Morteza Nemati captured the men's kumite -75kg title after defeating his Kazakh rival in the final. Minutes later, Mahmoud Nemati added another gold in the +84kg division with a convincing win over Saudi Arabia's representative.
⚽️ Iran’s Nemati brothers, Mortaza and Mahmoud, have powered their way into the final of the Asian Karate Championships.@presstvsports pic.twitter.com/aPCAMnzESq
— Press TV Sports (@presstvsports) June 19, 2026
The achievement saw the two brothers stand atop the Asian podium on the same day, providing one of the tournament's most memorable moments.
Iran also reached the final of the men's team kumite event after defeating Nepal, Vietnam and Japan.
The Iranian side, a blend of experienced athletes and emerging talent, was ultimately beaten 3-0 by Jordan in the gold-medal match and settled for silver.
The country's bronze medals came in the men's and women's individual kata events, women's team kata, women's kumite -61kg and men's kumite -84kg.
The result marked a significant improvement for Iran, which had finished fifth at the previous Asian Championships in 2025. The team placed sixth in 2024, third in 2023 and fourth in both 2021 and 2022.
The strong showing in Bali provides momentum for Iran ahead of two major events later this year: the Asian Games in Nagoya and the Karate World Cup in Hangzhou.
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