The schedule for the Iranian men's national handball team at the 2026 Asian Games, which will be held in Nagoya, Japan, has been confirmed.
The schedule for the Iranian men's national handball team at the 2026 Asian Games, which will be held in Nagoya, Japan, has been confirmed.
The handball competitions are scheduled from September 19 to September 29. Iran has been placed in Group B alongside regional powers such as South Korea, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Kazakhstan.
Iran faces a challenging group and will begin its campaign with a match against Kuwait on September 19. Following this, the team will play games against Bahrain, South Korea, and Kazakhstan in the remaining group stage matches.
According to the schedule, a match between Iran and Kuwait will take place on September 19. On September 21, Iran will play against Bahrain. A match between Iran and South Korea is planned for September 22, and on September 23, it will be Iran versus Kazakhstan.
The Iranian team will participate in four matches over five days, making the depth of the squad and recovery particularly important in the fight for a playoff spot. Considering that strong teams like South Korea, Bahrain, and Kuwait are in the group, Iran anticipates a difficult challenge in Nagoya, aiming to make a strong impression at the 2026 Asian Games.
Jalil Khouhpaiyazadeh, head of the Iranian Disabled Sports Federation, stated that the 2026 Asian Para Games are a matter of national pride, and Iran intends to defend its silver medal won at the Hangzhou Games.
These statements were made by Khouhpaiyazadeh during a press conference on Monday, where he presented the latest achievements of the country's para-athletes and outlined the federation's plans for the Nagoya Games.
He emphasized that despite a difficult year caused by the 40-day war, the federation continued to work on creating a comprehensive program for the upcoming competitions. Khouhpaiyazadeh noted that despite the circumstances, they made every effort to develop a structured plan for the Asian Para Games.
The federation head highlighted talent development as a key element in maintaining Iran's success in parasports. He explained that creating a strong pipeline of athletes is critical for repeating achievements, and many promising athletes were identified last year and subsequently directed to coaches.
Despite challenging conditions, Iran's seated volleyball teams continued to participate in international competitions. The men's team won a world title last month, and the women's team reached the top eight for the first time.
Khouhpaiyazadeh noted that these results were significant to the global community because they were achieved under wartime conditions, demonstrating that outstanding success is possible even in the most difficult circumstances.
Looking beyond Nagoya, Khouhpaiyazadeh announced that Iran also plans to participate in the Global Virtus Games in 2027, which will take place at the end of November. The federation is currently preparing to send athletes in six sports: swimming, indoor rowing, taekwondo, athletics, table tennis, and badminton.
