TEHRAN - The Iranian sports delegation has participated in 16 editions of the Asian Games, missing only three. The best performance of Iranian athletes in the continent’s largest sporting event dates back to the 1974 Tehran Asian Games, where they clinched 36 gold medals and secured the runner-up position.
The 20th Asian Games, Aichi-Nagoya 2026, is officially scheduled to be hosted by Japan from September 18 to October 4 of this year. Iran’s delegation for this edition will consist of 522 members, including 305 male and female athletes competing across various sports.
Below is a review of the Iranian delegation’s performance across 19 editions of the Asian Games from 1951 to 2022:
In the inaugural Asian Games hosted by New Delhi in 1951, Iran participated with 64 athletes, securing 8 gold, 6 silver, and 2 bronze medals to finish third in the continent. After missing the second edition (1954 Manila), the 112-member Iranian delegation returned for the third edition (1958 Tokyo), claiming 7 gold, 14 silver, and 11 bronze medals to finish fourth. Iran was absent again in the fourth edition (1962 Jakarta), but in the fifth edition (1966 Bangkok), a 118-member team won 6 gold, 8 silver, and 17 bronze medals, placing sixth. In the sixth edition (1970 Bangkok), Iran’s 169-member delegation won 9 gold, 7 silver, and 7 bronze medals, securing fourth place in Asia.
The seventh edition in 1974, hosted by Tehran, marked a turning point in the country’s sports history. As the host nation, Iran’s 400-athlete delegation achieved brilliant results, winning 36 gold, 28 silver, and 17 bronze medals (81 in total) to confidently claim the runner-up title behind Japan.
Following an absence in the eighth edition (1978 Bangkok), Iran sent only 43 athletes across 4 sports to the ninth edition (1982 New Delhi), finishing seventh with 4 gold, 4 silver, and 4 bronze medals. In the tenth edition (1986 Seoul), 94 Iranian athletes competed in 10 sports, collecting 6 gold, 6 silver, and 10 bronze medals to stand in fourth place. The eleventh edition (1990 Beijing) saw the participation of 126 athletes, resulting in 4 gold, 6 silver, and 8 bronze medals, which placed Iran fifth.
In the twelfth edition (1994 Hiroshima), 162 Iranian athletes won 9 gold, 9 silver, and 8 bronze medals, finishing sixth. The thirteenth edition (1998 Bangkok) involved 199 athletes competing in 22 sports, bringing home 10 gold, 11 silver, and 13 bronze medals to secure seventh place.
Recent Decades: Medal Surges and Sports Development (2002-2022)
In the fourteenth edition (2002 Busan), Iran’s 150-member delegation finished tenth with 8 gold, 14 silver, and 14 bronze medals. This upward trend improved in the fifteenth edition (2006 Doha), where 239 athletes earned 11 gold, 15 silver, and 22 bronze medals, placing Iran sixth in Asia.
A renewed surge in medal-winning began at the sixteenth edition (2010 Guangzhou). Iran’s 362-member delegation (274 men and 88 women) participated in 42 Olympic and non-Olympic sports, achieving a remarkable leap with 20 gold, 14 silver, and 25 bronze medals to finish fourth. In the seventeenth edition (2014 Incheon), 276 Iranian athletes surpassed the 20-gold mark for the first time since the Tehran Games, winning 21 gold, 18 silver, and 18 bronze medals to finish fifth.
The eighteenth edition (2018 Jakarta-Palembang), held in two cities for the first time, saw 378 athletes from 30 federations (280 men and 98 women) set a record of 62 total medals (20 gold, 20 silver, 22 bronze), placing Iran sixth. Finally, the nineteenth edition (2022 Hangzhou), which was uniquely delayed by one year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, hosted 286 Iranian athletes (208 men and 78 women) who secured 13 gold, 21 silver, and 20 bronze medals, earning the country a seventh-place finish.