TEHRAN - Iranian swimmers Homer Abbasi and Amir Motaee reached the finals of their respective events at the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, marking Iran’s first appearance in an individual swimming final at the Games since 2010.
The two swimmers achieved the milestone on the second day of the swimming competition at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre on Monday, with both also lowering their national records again in the finals.
The swimming program at the 20th Asian Games runs from September 20 to 25 and features 41 medal events.
Abbasi finished seventh in the men’s 50m backstroke final in 25.23 seconds. He had qualified for the final by clocking 25.37 in the heats, a national record at the time and an improvement on his previous entry mark of 25.51.
He lowered the national record again in the final, despite finishing outside the medal positions.
In the men’s 50m backstroke, China’s Xu Jiayu won gold in 24.04 seconds, followed by compatriot Wang Zicheng with silver in 24.49 and South Korea’s Yoon Jihwan with bronze in 24.54.
Motaee also advanced to the men’s 100m breaststroke final after posting 1:00.66 in the heats. That performance broke his previous Iranian record of 1:02.12, set in September 2025.
In the final, Motaee improved the mark once again, stopping the clock at 1:00.57 to finish seventh.
In the men’s 100m breaststroke, China’s Dong Zhihao and Japan’s Ohashi Shin shared gold in 58.64, while China’s Qin Haiyang took bronze in 59.01.
Iran’s return to an individual swimming final at the Asian Games comes 16 years after Muhammad Alirezaei reached the finals of the 50m and 100m breaststroke at the 2010 Guangzhou Games. Alirezaei finished fourth in the 50m breaststroke and eighth in the 100m.
The Aichi-Nagoya Games are being held from September 19 to October 4 across venues in Japan, with around 17,000 athletes and officials from 45 countries and regions competing in 43 sports.
Iran’s delegation, named “Minab Angels”—a tribute to the victims of the U.S.-Israeli attack on Shajareh Tayyebe Elementary School in Minab on February 28—is competing at the Games with 305 athletes across 38 sports.