TEHRAN - Roghayeh Amiri, Iran’s national women’s wheelchair basketball team forward, expressed hope that she can continue to achieve honors with the national team in upcoming events.

Amiri has a gold medal from the Asian Championships and also won a bronze medal on the path to securing qualification for the World Championships.

She was selected for the tournament’s All-Star Team at the 2017 Asian Championships, and once again earned a place in the All-Star Team during the World Championship qualification tournament held in 2022.

“I have been a member of the national wheelchair basketball team for eight years. I have achieved many titles in this sport, but I must say that I am still hungry for success and I will not stop striving,” Amiri said in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times.

The 24-year-old athlete, who was the oldest member of Iran’s delegation at the Asian Youth Para Games, spoke about that competition and said: “The latest achievement I earned with the women’s wheelchair basketball team was at the Asian Para Games in Dubai, where we finished as runners-up in the 3x3 wheelchair basketball event. This was the first time this discipline was included in the Asian Para Games, and I believe we delivered a good performance.”

Amiri, who has also experienced being the top scorer and MVP in national championships and plays in the guard and center positions, described wheelchair basketball as a major influence in her life.
“Sport, in general, changed the course of my life. My plan for the coming years is to have a stronger presence in competitions. I hope that in the future we can use sport as a tool to improve the physical fitness of athletes with disabilities,” Amiri added.

Speaking about the 2025 IWBF Asia Oceania, where she and her team secured qualification for the 2026 Asian Para Games, Amiri commented on the competition level: “The level of the competition in Thailand was very high. We participated with young players who had no international experience. Asian teams have made significant progress, and our main rival, Thailand, have improved greatly. We must do our utmost to reduce the gap with them.”

When asked whether she will compete at the 2026 Asian Para Games, Amiri said:
“I am currently in the training camp, and if the coaches decide, I will proudly take part in these Games so that we can deliver a better performance than in the previous edition.”

Amiri and Iran’s national women’s wheelchair basketball team finished fourth at the 2022 Asian Para Games.