Morteza Nemati claimed the gold in the men’s under-75kg kumite, while Ali Asghar Asiabari and Fatemehzahra Saeidabadi took silver in their respective kumite divisions. Iran’s women’s team kata also finished runner-up to complete the country’s four-medal haul in karate.
The karate competition is being held at Toyohashi Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, one of the venues designated for the Games.
Nemati delivered Iran’s first gold medal of the Asian Games in the men’s under-75kg kumite.
The Iranian received a first-round bye before defeating Kazakhstan’s Nurkanat Azhikanov 8-0 and the Philippines’ Alwyn Baitkhan 8-2 to reach the final. He then overcame Turkmenistan’s Davut Nazarmuradov 4-3 in the gold-medal bout to secure the title.
Nemati entered the Games as the reigning Asian champion in the weight class. He won the men’s under-75kg title at the 2026 Asian Senior Championships in Bali, where Azhikanov took silver.
Iran’s second silver came from the women’s team kata, with Fatemeh Sadeghi, Sepideh Amini and Zeynab Hosseini advancing to the final.
The Iranian trio opened their campaign with a 5-0 victory over Thailand in the quarterfinals and repeated the score against the Philippines in the semifinals to book their place in the gold-medal contest.
In the final, Iran faced Vietnam and missed out on gold, taking silver. The silver came as the team made its first appearance at the Asian Games.
MNA
