Iran announce 12-man volleyball squad for 2026 Asian Games

TEHRAN – Iran have announced their 12-player squad for the men’s volleyball tournament at the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, with several notable absences from the national team roster.

The squad consists of Amin Esmaeilnezhad, Pouria Hossein Khanzadeh, Hossein Hajiklateh, Arshia Behnezhad, Elshan Davoudipour, Ali Hajipour, Morteza Sharifi, Ali Haghparast, Mobin Nasri, Mohammad Valizadeh, Issa Naseri and Yousef Kazemi.

Following the conclusion of the 2026 Asian Championship in Fukuoka, libero Mohammadreza Hazratpour, along with Esmail Mosafer and Nima Bateni, will return to Tehran, while Yousef Kazemi will join the national team camp from Tehran.

Hazratpour had previously been one of head coach Roberto Piazza’s main options at libero. He was included in Iran’s squad for the 2026 Volleyball Nations League (VNL) and shared the libero position with Hossein Hajiklateh.

The men’s volleyball tournament at the 2026 Asian Games will take place from Sept. 27 to Oct. 3, with Iran drawn alongside Indonesia, Thailand and Kyrgyzstan in the preliminary round.

Iran are the reigning Asian Games champions, having won gold at the last three editions in 2014, 2018 and 2022. They will head to Nagoya aiming to secure a historic fourth consecutive Asian Games gold medal.