TEHRAN – Head of the Iran Deaf Sports Federation, Mostafa Nekoulal Azad, says that Iran is ready to shine at the Tokyo 2025 Deaflympics.

The 2025 Summer Deaflympics, officially known as the 25th Summer Deaflympics (XXV Summer Deaflympics), will be held in Tokyo, Japan from Nov. 15 to 26.

This marks the third time an Asian nation has been awarded hosting rights for the Summer Deaflympics, after Taiwan (2009) and Turkey (2017). The event returns to its usual four-year cycle, following the 2021 Summer Deaflympics which was postponed to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nekoulal Azad expressed optimism that Iran’s delegation will raise the national flag at the Games.
“First of all, I must say a bright future awaits the deaf and hard of hearing people of Iran. Our society comprises about one million people, and we will strive to make our voices heard. Competing in the Deaflympics is a way to demonstrate how strong our deaf community is,” Nekoulal told Tehran Times in an exclusive interview.

“The Games will feature 18 sports, but we plan to compete in 12. Iranian athletes will participate in football, beach volleyball, judo, karate, taekwondo, athletics, shooting, badminton, bowling, table tennis, freestyle, and Greco-Roman wrestling. This edition offers an opportunity for our athletes to move onto the podium and raise our flag multiple times,” he added.

Nekoulal noted that Iranian deaf athletes have previously excelled on the international stage.

“At the 2024 Asia-Pacific Deaf Games, we finished first with 24 golds, 16 silvers, and 21 bronzes — 61 medals in total. Additionally, we won the World Deaf Futsal Championships title in 2025 in Italy. This success is the result of the efforts of coaches, officials, and athletes. However, we must continue this path more vigorously to take fundamental steps toward eliminating discrimination, injustices, and gaps in our country,” he said.

“With full vigor and the experience we have gained, we are preparing to participate in the 2025 Deaflympics. It is also worth noting that Iran’s women will participate in six sports at the Games. Our slogan in Tokyo is ‘Until the Last Breath for Our Homeland,’ and we will be sending 160 athletes. The delegation’s name will be ‘Lovers of Iran.’ Our message is peace, friendship, cooperation, and good relations with the world, and we hope to raise our flag high in Japan by winning medals,” Nekoulal concluded.