Iranian athletes captured a series of gold medals in athletics, para taekwondo, swimming, para powerlifting and judo over the past two days at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Para Games, strengthening the country’s position in the continental competition.
On Wednesday and Thursday, Iran’s medal haul was highlighted by Saeed Afrooz’s world-record performance in the javelin throw, a double gold for swimmer Sina Zighami Nejad and a Games-record victory for sprinter Hajar Safarzadeh.
Afrooz sets world record
Afrooz produced one of Iran’s standout performances on Thursday, winning gold in the men’s F33/F34 javelin throw with a distance of 42.58 meters. The Iranian also broke the world record in the event.
His compatriot Mohammad Ebrahim Pourtalai claimed silver with a throw of 38.47 meters, completing a one-two finish for Iran.
Safarzadeh also struck gold in athletics, winning the women’s 400 meters in the T12 class in 56.43 seconds. She broke the Asian Para Games record for the second time, improving on the mark she had set in the qualifying round.
Iran added another gold through Sina Zighami Nejad, who won the men’s 100-meter breaststroke in the SB9 class in 1:09.47. He finished ahead of compatriot Shahin Izadyar, who took silver in 1:13.23.
The pair had earlier claimed the top two places in the men’s 50-meter freestyle in the S10 class, with Zighami Nejad taking gold in 25.82 seconds and Izadyar earning silver in 26.32.
Powerlifting and athletics deliver more medals
Iran also enjoyed a successful day in para powerlifting. Ahmad Aminzadeh won the men’s over-107kg category with a lift of 260kg, while Mehdi Sayadi secured silver with 240kg.
Zahra Aghaei took silver in the women’s 79kg category after lifting 133kg. Niko Roozbahani also earned silver in the women’s over-86kg division with a lift of 155kg.
Paralympic gold medalist Ali-Akbar Gharibshahi finished second in the men’s 107kg category with 245kg, despite an injury that prevented him from improving his opening lift.
In athletics, Zafar Zaker won silver in the men’s F54/F55 shot put with a throw of 11.79 meters. Shahla Hadidi added another silver in the women’s F54 discus, recording 14.54 meters.
Wednesday's gold-medal winners
Iran collected four gold medals on Wednesday, led by a record-breaking performance from Alireza Zare, who won the men’s T35 100 meters in 12.32 seconds.
Para taekwondo contributed two titles. Alireza Bakht defeated his South Korean opponent 2-0 in the men’s under-80kg K44 final, while Hamed Haghshenas secured gold in the men’s over-80kg K44 category with a 2-0 victory over his Uzbek rival.
In para judo, Ali Navaei claimed gold in the men’s J1 over-95kg category, defeating Uzbekistan’s Islomjon Tukhtaboev by ippon.
Iran also secured several silver medals on Wednesday. Hajar Safarzadeh took second place in the women’s T12 100 meters, while Fatemeh-Zahra Amiryousefi won silver in the T13 category.
In para powerlifting, Ruhollah Rostami finished second in the men’s 88kg division after lifting 243kg, just one kilogram short of China's Yan Panpan.
Mohammadreza Kheirollahzadeh added silver in the men’s J2 over-95kg judo category.
Iran sixth in medal standings
At the end of Thursday, Iran stood sixth in the overall medal table with 19 gold, 29 silver and 32 bronze medals, bringing its total to 80.
China led the standings with 150 gold medals, followed by Japan with 40 and Uzbekistan with 38. India and South Korea occupied fourth and fifth places, respectively, ahead of Iran.
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