TEHRAN – Ghafour Kargari, president of Iran’s National Paralympic Committee (NPC), says the Asian Youth Para Games 2025 are a valuable opportunity to identify talented athletes for the 2026 Asian Para Games and the 2028 Paralympic Games.

Iran will compete under the slogan “The Hopes of Iran, Ambassadors of Victory.” Maryam Kazemipour has been designated as chef de mission for the delegation.

The competition will feature 11 sports: athletics, weightlifting, badminton, taekwondo, archery, swimming, table tennis, wheelchair basketball 3x3, boccia, arm wrestling, and goalball. The Asian Youth Para Games 2025 are set to be held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from December 7 to 14.

“The Asian Youth Para Games are very important for us for two reasons. First, the Games provide motivation for athletes to pursue sport. Therefore, we view the Games as a strategic event, and we have been preparing for a long time. Second, we aim to discover new talented athletes in Dubai for the Asian Games in Nagoya and the Los Angeles Paralympic Games,” Kargari said.

“Unlike other events where the primary goal is the quality of the delegation, we prioritize maximum participation. We plan to compete with 205 athletes. Kazakhstan, our regional rival, will also participate with a similar number of athletes,” the NPC head added.

In August, on the sidelines of the 38th APC Executive Board Meeting in Astana, Kazakhstan, Iran’s NPC and the Asian Paralympic Committee (APC) signed an agreement to establish the APC Higher Education Center in Iran. This aims to create a regional sports training center capable of hosting the continental Sport Training and Events Centre (APC STEC) in Iran.

“Iran has been chosen as Asia's science hub, and in line with this achievement, a memorandum of understanding was signed between us and the Asian Paralympic Committee. IPC president Andrew Parsons lauded our efforts to establish the APC STEC,” Kargari stated.

Kargari also lauded Paralympic gold medalists Zahra Nemati, Sareh Javanmardi, and Hadi Rezaei, noting that Iran’s legendary para-athletes deserve even more recognition.

“Iran sitting volleyball head coach Rezaei has been inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame. Javanmardi has won four Paralympic gold medals and was nicknamed the Queen of the Pistol by IPC. Nemati recently received the Exemplary Asian Official award in recognition of her leadership, vision, and commitment to advancing the Paralympic Movement. However, I believe the credit they deserved has not been accorded to them,” Kargari said.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein