TEHRAN – Behrouz Soltani, head coach of Iran’s national wheelchair basketball team, said that their primary objective is to win the gold medal at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Nagoya.

At the previous edition of the Games in Hangzhou, Team Melli finished with a bronze medal.

Now, according to the head coach, the team will head into the next Games with the aim of becoming champions.

“Our foreign based players are currently play for their club competitions. We are in contact with them, although unfortunately in recent weeks our communication has been disrupted. Prior to that, however, we were monitoring their performances from afar. Based on the program of the Iran’s National Paralympic Committee, we hold training camps every month for a 10-day period, because we have a very busy year ahead,” Soltani said in an exclusive interview with Tehran Times.

“We have three very important tournaments coming up next year. The first is the 2026 IWBF Men’s Repechage, which will be held in Thailand in June The next tournament is the 2026 IWBF World Championships, which will take place in September in Ottawa, Canada. Less than a month later, we must compete in the Asian Para Games in Nagoya.

“The national team have been in a special situation during this period because we are pursuing two goals in parallel. The first is rejuvenating the team, injecting young talent, and lowering the team’s average age, as we felt this was necessary. This process has begun and will continue. Alongside that, we must improve our technical and team performance on a daily basis and be bold in striving for success,” he added.

“I believe we have very good young players, and over the past one or two years we have identified many promising talents. We need to test them in the tournaments ahead so that new players can be added to the team. This will help us achieve good results while also bringing freshness and youth to the squad. Our main goal is to secure qualification for the 2026 World Championships at the Thailand tournament. I hope we can qualify and gain valuable technical experience. At the World Championships, we will have the opportunity to showcase the team’s technical capabilities with a mix of young and experienced players.”

In conclusion, the head coach of the national wheelchair basketball team described winning the Asian Para Games as the team’s top priority, saying: “I think we will send a strong and energetic team to Nagoya, and our goal is to win the championship at the Games. All the planning by the federation and the National Paralympic Committee is focused on achieving the title.”