Paralympic champions Japan will have home advantage, China will arrive as defending double gold medallists, and Iran will bring fresh continental success when the goalball competition gets underway at the 2026 Asian Para Games in Aichi-Nagoya.
With several of Asia’s leading goalball nations involved, the competition brings together familiar rivals whose encounters at the Paralympics, previous Asian Para Games and continental championships have produced contrasting results.
The Toyohashi City General Gymnasium in Aichi will host the goalball competition, with six men’s and four women’s teams competing for the two gold medals from 17 to 23 October.
Japan seek to build on historic Paris triumph
Japan’s men enter the competition with the distinction of being the reigning Paralympic champions after winning their first gold medal at Paris 2024.
Their campaign was far from straightforward. Having lost to China and Ukraine during the preliminary stage, Japan recovered to beat the United States in the quarterfinals before producing an emphatic 13-5 victory over China in the semifinals.
The final against Ukraine was decided in extra time, with Yuto Sano scoring the winning goal in a dramatic 4-3 victory. Although Sano will not be part of Japan’s Aichi-Nagoya squad, three of his teammates from Paris — Yuji Taguchi, Kazuya Kaneko, Koji Miyajiki — will return, carrying the experience of that Paralympic triumph into the continental challenge.
However, China have repeatedly proved difficult opponents in Asian competition. At the previous Asian Para Games in Hangzhou, China defeated Japan 9-3 in the men’s final. Japan’s more recent fourth-place finish at the 2026 World Championships in Hangzhou also provides an indication of their form ahead of the home event.
China arrive with World Championship double
China have strengthened their position since Paris, where their women’s team claimed bronze and the men finished fourth.
At the 2026 World Championships in Hangzhou, China captured both titles, beating Germany 7-1 in the men’s final and Israel 12-4 in the women’s decider. Those victories have added another dimension to their rivalry with Japan ahead of Aichi-Nagoya.
China’s women also have an impressive recent record against Japan, having beaten them 5-0 at the Hangzhou 2022 final and 2-1 in the 2025 Asia-Pacific Championship final.
Chunyan Wang will be among the players attracting attention. She scored 18 goals at Paris 2024, including four in China’s 6-0 bronze-medal victory over Brazil.
Iran and South Korea add to the competition
Iran’s men provide another major challenge following their victory at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Championships in Islamabad, where they defeated China 4-2 in the final.
Iran also collected bronze at the previous Asian Para Games and finished sixth at the Paris Paralympics.
Two players from their Paris squad – Mahdi Abbasi and Hassan Jafari– will be part of Aichi-Nagoya team hoping to help the team improve their medal colour.
South Korea’s women, meanwhile, have collected bronze at both the Hangzhou Asian Para Games and the 2025 Asia-Pacific Championships. They will hope to make it to the podium this time as well.
Thailand’s men also have reason for encouragement after defeating Australia 5-4 to secure bronze at the 2025 Asia-Pacific Championships.
Early fixtures promise immediate tests
The organisers confirmed the participating teams and match schedule on September 17.
Japan’s women open against Thailand on October 17, while China face South Korea. The men’s opening fixtures include Japan against Qatar, China against Thailand and Iran against South Korea.
Two particularly interesting encounters follow: Japan’s women meet China on October 19, while the Japanese men face China on October 20. China and Iran meet in the men’s competition the following day. The semifinals are scheduled for October 22, followed by the bronze-medal matches and finals on October 23.
