TEHRAN – Iran’s men’s volleyball team defeated Japan 3-1 (28-26, 19-25, 25-21, 26-24) in the final match of the 2026 Asian Games on Saturday.

Iran won the gold medal for the fourth successive time.

Amin Esmaeilnezhad led Iran with 22 points, while Tatsunori Otsuka scored 22 points for Japan.

Iran had previously defeated Kyrgyzstan 3-0, Thailand 3-0, Indonesia 3-2, South Korea 3-2 and Pakistan 3-0 before the final match.

The volleyball’s gold was Iran’s 19th gold in the 2026 Asian Games.

Earlier in the day, Pakistan defeated China 3-0 to win a bronze medal.

Reporting by Masoud Hossein