TEHRAN - Iran’s national women’s kabaddi team advanced to the final of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Friday after securing a hard-fought 23-19 victory over Chinese Taipei in the semifinals.
The Iranian squad, led by head coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, established early dominance on the mat, concluding the first half with a 14-9 lead before closing out the contest 23-19 to earn a berth in the gold-medal match.
Iran advanced to the knockout stage from Group A, where they claimed victories over Japan and Bangladesh while suffering their sole group-stage defeat against regional powerhouse India.
With the semifinal victory, Iran sets up a high-stakes rematch against India in the final scheduled for Saturday at 07:30 Tehran time.
Iran’s 12-member squad at the 20th Asian Games features Zahra Karimi, Mahtab Lak Aliabadi, Zahra Astaraki, Saniya Naeimi, Hadis Varasteh, Nikta Jalalvand, Zakiyeh Malmali, Aynaz Faramarzi, Fereshteh Kalagar, Atena Madadi, Sahar Yari, and Zahra Khodabandehloo.
The coaching and technical staff comprises head coach Gholamreza Mazandarani, assistant coaches Leila Doustvandi, Samaneh Afkham, and Azadeh Solgi, alongside team manager Zahra Rahimi-nejad.