TEHRAN - The Iranian men’s national handball team lost to Kuwait by a narrow two-point margin in its opening match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday.
The handball competitions of the 2026 Asian Games kicked off on Saturday morning, with Iran facing the Kuwaiti national team and ultimately falling 26-24.
Iran started strong in the first half, maintaining a solid performance in the opening minutes to head into the locker room with a 15-13 lead.
In the second half, however, Kuwait gradually closed the gap to tie the game. The lead changed hands several times before Kuwait capitalized on its scoring opportunities in the final minutes to secure a 26-24 victory.
Tensions flared in the closing moments of the match when Iran’s Mohammadreza Oraei clashed with Kuwaiti players. After they obstructed his movement, a brief scuffle broke out between the players of both squads.
The Iranian roster for the tournament features Muhammad Siavashi, Mohammadreza Oraei, Behshad Fatehizadeh, Omid Enayatijou, Muhammad Hussein Farrokhi Zarandi, Younes Asari, Ali Heydarian, Saber Heydari, Rouhollah Adelkhani, Muhammad Mehdi Behnamnia, Ali Amir Yousefi, Mehran Rahnama, Omidreza Sarpoushi, Alireza Pirzadeh Ahvazi, Mohammadreza Kazemi, and Milad Ghalandari.
The team is led by Croatian head coach Nenad Kljaić, alongside assistant coach Hamid Sadegh Shahneshin, goalkeeper coach Farid Alimoradi, technical advisor and analyst Mohsen Taheri, team manager Iraj Rezaei, and masseur Ali Bakhshi.