TEHRAN – Mohammad Rahbari, who won individual and team bronze medals in fencing at the Hangzhou Asian Games three years ago, will now return to the continental showpiece in a different role. After retiring from competitive fencing following the Paris Olympics, Rahbari joined Iran’s national sabre team coaching staff and is set to make his Asian Games coaching debut in Nagoya.
The former national team sabreist believes Iran have put the difficult period following the Olympics behind them and are now in a strong position to challenge for a medal at the 2026 Asian Games.
Speaking about his team’s preparations, Rahbari said the squad have made significant progress in recent months.
“The team went through some problems and disagreements over the past few months, but most of those issues have now been resolved. That helped the players train much better, and they are now more prepared than ever for the Asian Games.”
Rahbari said training camps in Italy and Ankara had also played an important role in the team’s preparations.
“We are currently in good shape and ready to compete for a medal in Nagoya. The training camps in Italy and Ankara have certainly helped. Overall, the combination of these programs and the improved atmosphere has allowed us to arrive at this stage without internal disagreements and with greater confidence and readiness.”
The national team coach acknowledged the strength of the Asian field, pointing to the depth and quality of several leading fencing nations.
“The Asian Games are important for every country in Asia, and fencing is particularly competitive on this continent because several Asian nations are among the world’s leading fencing powers. The competition will be very close.”
However, Rahbari believes Iran have a realistic chance of reaching the podium.
“I see my team as capable of winning a medal. I am not saying that one of the podium places is reserved for Iran, but based on what I know about the players’ technical and mental condition at the moment, I am very hopeful that we can achieve it.”
Ali Pakdaman, Mohammad Fotouhi, Nima Zakeri and Taha Kargarpoor will represent Iran in the men’s sabre competition in Nagoya.
Iran are expected to face strong challenges from South Korea, Japan, China and Uzbekistan.
“South Korea have always been our traditional rivals, while Japan, China and Uzbekistan are also among our main opponents. Japan, in particular, have caused problems for our fencers recently. It is not only Iran; even South Korea have sometimes struggled against Japan.”
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: tehrantimes.com
