2018 Asian Games

[Irannn]

We will have the 2018 Asian Games in August this year, I think it deserves a separate thread .

unlike other Asian Games, this time we had so many revolutionary changes in the program, mostly by Indonesian organizers. they simply don't care about other countries and only added their own events. most of these new changes will hurt Iran during the Games. in first post let me introduce the sports and the number of events in each sport. the only sport they dropped from 2014 program was Cricket.

Diving (10) - no change
Swimming (41) - they added 3 more events to match with the Olympic program, men's 800m and women's 1500m plus mixed relay event.
Synchronized Swimming (2) - They dropped the combination event, now we have two events same as the Olympic program.
Water Polo (2) - no change
Archery (8) - no change in number of events but they dropped both compound individual events, instead we will have both mixed team events in recurve and compound. which means 5 recurve and 3 compound events.
Athletics (48) - They added the mixed relay event
Badminton (7) - no change
Baseball (1) - no change
Softball (1) - no change
Basketball (2) - no change
Basketball 3x3 (2) - New sport. makes sense since IOC added this to the 2020 Olympic program
Bowling (6) - We had 12 events in previous games, They dropped 3 for each gender. to me it was stupid to have so many events in this sport where they do exact the same thing for all events. so I like this change.
Boxing (10) - We had 10 men's and 3 women's' classes last time, but they dropped 3 heaviest men's classes. 81kg, 91kg and +91kg. this is unbelievable how come nobody protested this. they officially made it boxing fro midgets !
Bridge (6) - New sport, if we can call it a sport ! this is a card game and Indonesia is apparently good in this !
Canoeing Slalom (4) - no change
Canoeing Sprint (12) - no change in number of events but since IOC changed the Olympic program , they did the same here with one exception, they dropped the Olympic event of men's K1-1000 and added men's C2-200m ! just to help Indonesia winning a medal.
Dragon Boat (5) - New sport as a part of Canoeing program. only to help the host nation winning more medals.
Cycling BMX (2) - no change
Cycling Mountain Bike (4) - alongside with two Olympic events of cross-country, they also added two downhill events.
Cycling Road (4) - no change, but now each country can enter 4 cyclists instead of 2. that's a big change because now we can have team work and strategies. this is good for Cycling nations like Iran.
Cycling Track (12) - they added two more Individual pursuit events which is weird instead of Olympic event of Madison !
Equestrian (6) - no change
Fencing (12) - no change
Football (2) - no change
Golf (4) - no change
Gymnastics Artistic (14) - no change
Gymnastics Rhythmic (2) - no change
Gymnastics Trampoline (2) - no change
Handball (2) - no change
Hockey (2) - no change
Jet Ski (4) - new sport per Indonesia's request
Judo (15) - They dropped both men and women's team events, instead we will have a mixed team event.
Jujitsu (8) - new sport, Indonesia had nothing to do with this one, OCA wants to develop this one badly. because of UAE's influence
Kabaddi (2) - no change
Karate (12) - They wanted to drop men's +84kg event but the Asian federation didn't let it happen, instead they dropped men's 55kg which makes sense since we don't have this weight class outside of Asian competitions.
Kurash (7) - new sport per OCA's request, same as Jujitsu. because of Central Asian countries.
Modern Pentathlon (2) - They dropped both team events. now we will have only individual events.
Paragliding (6) - new sport to help Indonesia winning more medals
Pencak Silat (16) - new sport, this is the martial arts national sport of Indonesia, another weird addition from the host.
Roller Speed Skating (2) - new sport, we will have two marathon road events.
Skateboarding (4) - new sport, IOC added this to the Olympics program, so no surprise to have this one in Jakarta.
Rowing (15) - we had some changes in the program and the total number is one more than 2014 program.
Rugby Sevens (2) - no change
Sailing (10) - We had so many changes here as well, they dropped 4 events. we have 10 instead of 14
Sambo (4) - new sport, another weird addition, this time by central Asian countries.
Sepak Takraw (6) - no changes in number of events but they dropped a women' event to have one more male event.
Shooting (20) - We have most changes in this sport. revolutionary changes. we had team events for all of them making it 44 events last time in Incheon, Indonesia dropped all of them. there will be 3 mixed team event same as the new Olympic program.
Sport Climbing (6) - new sport, we will have combined, speed and speed relay events for both genders. Climbing will be at the 2020 Olympics but only the combined event (combination of speed, lead and boulder) here Indonesia added speed and speed relay events just because they are good in this. same as Iran.
Squash (4) - no change
Taekwondo (14) - We had 16 Kyorugi events before now we have 10 (5 for each gender) plus 4 Poomsae events. weird change because Poomsae is quite boring and having 5 weights doesn't make sense. we should have either 4 or 8. but then they added one more weight (because of Indonesia) to make 4 Olympic weights plus one more !
Table Tennis (5) - They dropped both men's and women's doubles events.
Tennis (5) - They dropped both men's and women's team events.
Soft Tennis (5) - They dropped both men's and women's doubles events.
Triathlon (3) - no change
Volleyball (2) - no change
Beach Volleyball (2) - no change
Weightlifting (15) - no change, the organizers wanted 14 events, they dropped +105kg ! the Asian federation overturned the decision and dropped 62kg instead. and since that was an important weight for Indonesia, they broke their rule (of not adding any new event) and added this one back. so no change after all.
Wrestling (18) - last time in Incheon we had 8 weights per style (FS and Greco) for men and 4 for women. but as expected they made it similar to the Olympic program, 6+6+6.
Wushu (14) - They dropped the heaviest weight of 75kg from the competition.

[Nokhodi]

What an embarrassment.
Bridge? Jet Ski?
These competitions are becoming more and more meaningless.

[Irannn]

What an embarrassment.
Bridge? Jet Ski?
These competitions are becoming more and more meaningless.

since my post is too long, let me make a summary about the new sports. a few of them are not "new" actually. we had them in Asian Games before . but not last time in 2014. Roller skating and Dragon Boat.

new additions
Bridge (6)
Paragliding (6)
Pencak Silat (16)
Jet Ski (4)
Jijutsu (8)
Kurash (7)
Sambo (4)
Sport Climbing (6)
Skateboarding (4)
Dragon Boat (5)
Roller Speed Skating (2)

to me only Sport Climbing is a good addition, the rest are terrible even though Kurash and probably Jujitsu will give us medals but they stll have no place at the Asian Games.

[_Navid_]

Great post and thread. Thanks for creating it.
I was planning to create it in July but hoped someone else would do it instead.

[Ab-Gosht]

please make a medal prediction for iran as well. no hurry when you have time

[_Navid_]

In 2010 Asian games in China we got 20 gold medals and finished 4th in medal table.
In 2014 Asian games in Korea we got 21 gold medals and finished 5th in medal table.

After the 1974 games where we hosted the games in newly inaugurated Aryameher complex and we finished 2nd in medal table with 36 golds, 2010 was our best finish in ranking and 2014 our best in terms of gold medals.

I know it is too early to predict but considering the fact that quite a few of our gold medal weights have been removed my prediction is between 17 to 19 gold medals, specifically:

3 golds in Greco-Roman wrestling
3 golds in Karate
3 golds in weightlifting
2 golds in Taekwondo
2 golds in freestyle wrestling
1 gold in Wushu
1 gold in speed climbing
1 gold in volleyball
1 gold in discuss throw
1 gold in shooting

Other sports where we might snatch a gold are Basketball, Football, Kabbedi, Cycling, Judo, Rowing/Canoeing and less likely in Handball, 100m running and Fencing.

[Irannn]

In 2010 Asian games in China we got 20 gold medals and finished 4th in medal table.
In 2014 Asian games in Korea we got 21 gold medals and finished 5th in medal table.
After the 1974 games where we hosted the games in newly inaugurated Aryameher complex and we finished 2nd in medal table with 36 golds, 2010 was our best finish in ranking and 2014 our best in terms of gold medals.
I know it is too early to predict but considering the fact that quite a few of our gold medal weights have been removed my prediction is between 17 to 19 gold medals, specifically:
3 golds in Greco-Roman wrestling
3 golds in Karate
3 golds in weightlifting
2 golds in Taekwondo
2 golds in freestyle wrestling
1 gold in Wushu
1 gold in speed climbing
1 gold in volleyball
1 gold in discuss throw
1 gold in shooting
Other sports where we might snatch a gold are Basketball, Football, Kabbedi, Cycling, Judo, Rowing/Canoeing and less likely in Handball, 100m running and Fencing.

This is a very good prediction . I agree with this for most of them

but for example we will send our B team in Volleyball because it will conflict with the World Championship. not sure if Japan and China also send B team. but Korea (who didn't qualify for the worlds) will send A team and will be favorite for the gold. even though there is still chance for our B team but I don't expect them to win the gold.

I expect Gold in Greco-Roman at 3 higher weights. there is a chance for 4th gold if Abdevali stops being childish.

I agree with 2 golds in freestyle. Yazdani for sure and probably one more. Uzbekistan has a very good team with a bunch of Russia/Georgian wrestlers. if Rahimi and Ghasemi and Ahmad Mohammadi recover in time. we may even end up winning 4 gold medals but I also say 2 for now.

3 in Karate sounds OK to me. all of our 8 athletes will challenge for the gold though.

3 in weightlifting, maybe 4. with China and Kazakhstan being banned (if that stands) we have a VERY good chance for gold at 85, 94 and +105. there is a chance for 105. depending on Uzbekistan squad. they have a n Olympic champion in this weight who was absent last year. not sure if he is healthy to participate this year.

I also agree with 2 in Taekwondo. unfortuantely even winning "no gold" is also quite possible. Korea is becoming great again with the new rules. all of our top athletes lost to the youngsters during the national trials. we may have a new team in Jakarta. but still you never can underestimate Iranian taekwondo. our junior team just dominated the World Champs. winning 7 out of 10 gold medals !

1 in wushu, yep . with new rules all of our athletes have to go through China to win the gold. I see only Mohamamdseifi being capable of beating them. even though in the whole histry of the Games , China lost only 4 Sanda matches, all of them to the Iranians.

1 in sport climbing, Alipour is the heavy favorite. but accident happens in this sport. you always can fall from the wall. we also have a good chance for the gold in relay event. I remember without Alipour we lost very narrowly to Indonesia in Asian Champs.

1 in athletics, yes Haddadi has a huge chance for the gold. beside him any other gold medal will be a huge surprise. I give no chance to Taftian , that Chinese guy is fantastic and unbeatable. but I believe Keyhani at 3000 Steeplechase has a slim chance. even though there is always a chance that Qatar or Bahrain buy someone from Africa in this event. Samari won the Asian title last year in Shot Put. but his results are quite random. even his PB might not be enough for the gold but who knows this guy is quite lucky sometimes.

not sure about the shooting. Gold is possible but I'm not counting on it. but we have chance for medal in 4-5 events and you know if you reach the final in shooting, everything in possible.

I also believe we have a good chance in Basketball. we will have our full team there. unlike some other countries. we only lost to Australia at the Asian Cup which won't be present in Jakarta. I believe Iran is the #1 favorite but that's not a sure thing. we also have 3x3 basketball but I don't think we stand a chance for the gold. medal is not completely impossible.

no chance in Football IMO. we don't even have a team right now lol

Kabaddi, we almost beat India last time. we had a huge lead at the HT. but we are not in great shape lately. actually we lost to Pakistan and South Korea during the Asian Champs at home and both teams fnished with bronze. I expect two medals (silver or bronze) in this sport.

Cycling, we are in terrble situation right now. our only chance for a track gold was in Madison and Indonesia dropped that event. I know Daneshvar won the Keirin gold last time but that was a fluke win. he won't even reach the final this time. we have a chance in road events specially with new rules of 4 cyclists per team but this is everybody's game. we have chance for gold like 4-5 other countries. we may even end up without a single medal in Cycling.

Judo. I follow Mollaei and Mahjoub in their world tours and they are both improving. but unfortunately we have Japan and Korea in Asia. even Kazkhastan and Uzbekistan. even in our prime days in Judo we had won only one gold medal in history of the Games ! I believe there is a chance for these guys but I don't count on that.

Rowing. I'm very optimistic about this. Iran had some great results during the Asian Champs, winning 4 gold medals. China will dominate this sport as usual but out of 15 events. they can participate in 11. I expect at least one gold medal in Rowing, hopefully two. mostly in single sculls events. (men or women) Nazanin Malaei is a two time Asian Champion. also Mohsen Shadi is back and started his training months ago. even though I'm not sure about his current shape.

Canoeing, our best chance for gold was Adel Mojallali in C1-200m but unfortunately they dropped that event. now our best chances for gold are in Women's Kayak events. Hedieh Kazemi and Arezoo Motamedi both won silver last year in Asian losing the gold medal narrowly. I hope for one gold medal even though that won't be easy. as a pair these two girls won the gold in K2-200 but that won't be in the Games. still they have a chance at the K2-500.

We have a very good team in Sabre in fencing but unfortunately Korea is #1 in this event. it will be really hard t beat Korea specially in team event. they are more beatable in individual sabre event.

about Handball, Because of the timing, I'm not sure if we can bring all of our foreign-based players , with them we will have a very good chance for medal Ibelieve the Asian Championship disaster was an accident. but still gold medal is very unlikely because of Qatar.
----------

I also expect or hope for a gold medal in Kurash. Iran is good in this sport. but this is the national sport of Uzbekistan and they are hard to beat even though Iranians had beaten them before so many times. we always win at least one gold medal in Asian/World Kurash competitions.

there is also chance in Archery. despite our poor results recently. everything is possible in knockout rounds. we have 3 gold medal chances in men's and women's and mixed team events.

we also have very slim chances for gold in Jujitsu, Jujitsu has 3 styles and we are world class in Fighting System, unfortunately there will be only Ne-waza system in Jakarta. which is Brazillian Jujitsu, the national sport of UAE !!! in last competition we won gold in super heavy weight event but guess what, Indonesia dropped that event which was in original program . still we are not completely without chance in other weights even though our best chance is gone.

Actually we are not that bad in Pencak Silat ! hard to believe but we have that sport in Iran and had won world medals before. even though I believe all gold medals are reserved for the Southeast Asian countries. we will win few silver or bronze medals though. gold is highly unlikely.


so let me have a summary
5 in Wrestling
3 in Weightlifting
3 in Karate
2 in Taekwondo
1 in Sport Climbing
1 in Wushu
1 in Rowing
1 in Athletics
1 in Kurash
3 in Other sports, Shooting, Basketball, Volleyball, Canoeing, Archery, Fencing, Judo, Cycling.

[forzatm]

What an embarrassment.
Bridge? Jet Ski?
These competitions are becoming more and more meaningless.

In 2022, VIDEO GAMES will be a medal sport.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...22-asian-games

[Ata]

All host countries that have influence do this. Even Iran back in shahs era when they did have influence did this stuff. It’s all about money and fake fame

[littlepersia17]

In 2022, VIDEO GAMES will be a medal sport.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...22-asian-games

Iran is actually very good in the Esport (video game competitions) scene.

Unfortunately, South Korea dominates Esport very heavily though.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Irannn]

Iran NOC announced the list of sports they are going to send to Jakarta. this list is provisional and not final. they almost listed all sports here. so let me write the name of sports we are NOT participating 99%

Synchronized Swimming
Badminton
Baseball
Softball
Bowling
Bridge
Golf
Hockey
Jet Ski
Modern Pentathlon
Paragliding
Rugby Sevens
Soft Tennis
Roller Sports

some of these sports don't even exist in Iran. the only surprise is Badminton. mostly because we are supposed to send Tennis players. we are weak in both sports. probably weaker in Tennis !

[_Navid_]

My very early stage prediction for our gold medalists in order of probability (High to low):

1- Hasan Yazdani (Wrestling)
2- Sohrab Moradi (Weightlifting)
3- Ali Hosseini/Salimi (Weightlifting)
4- Ehsan Haddadi (Discus throw)
5- Mohsen Mohammadseifi (Wushu) [He would top my list if there was no china]
6- Men's Volleyball [Only if A team is sent]
7- Reza Alipour (Speed climbing)
8- Mehdi Khodabakhshi (Taekwondo)
9- Sajjad Ganjzadeh (Karate)
10- Amir Mehdizadeh (Karate)
11- Kimia Alizadeh (Taekwondo)
12- Kianoush Rostami (Weightlifting)
13- Elahe Mansourian (Wushu)
14- Men's Basketball

Of course I haven't ranked most wrestlers as we won't know who will win the trials but will include them in a new list before the games.

[Ab-Gosht]

My very early stage prediction for our gold medalists in order of probability (High to low):

1- Hasan Yazdani (Wrestling)
2- Sohrab Moradi (Weightlifting)
3- Ali Hosseini/Salimi (Weightlifting)
4- Ehsan Haddadi (Discus throw)
5- Mohsen Mohammadseifi (Wushu) [He would top my list if there was no china]
6- Men's Volleyball [Only if A team is sent]
7- Reza Alipour (Speed climbing)
8- Mehdi Khodabakhshi (Taekwondo)
9- Sajjad Ganjzadeh (Karate)
10- Amir Mehdizadeh (Karate)
11- Kimia Alizadeh (Taekwondo)
12- Kianoush Rostami (Weightlifting)
13- Elahe Mansourian (Wushu)
14- Men's Basketball

Of course I haven't ranked most wrestlers as we won't know who will win the trials but will include them in a new list before the games.

I dont think volleyball will be A team since they have world league and world champs

[_Navid_]

I dont think volleyball will be A team since they have world league and world champs

I think Asian games is a lot more prestigious and nationally more important than world league which happens annually. A lot of teams send their B teams to world league before tournaments like Olympics. As Behnam Mahmoudi said today we should prioritize Asian games and send the A team to use it as preparation matches for world champs.

[Irannn]

My very early stage prediction for our gold medalists in order of probability (High to low):

1- Hasan Yazdani (Wrestling)
2- Sohrab Moradi (Weightlifting)
3- Ali Hosseini/Salimi (Weightlifting)
4- Ehsan Haddadi (Discus throw)
5- Mohsen Mohammadseifi (Wushu) [He would top my list if there was no china]
6- Men's Volleyball [Only if A team is sent]
7- Reza Alipour (Speed climbing)
8- Mehdi Khodabakhshi (Taekwondo)
9- Sajjad Ganjzadeh (Karate)
10- Amir Mehdizadeh (Karate)
11- Kimia Alizadeh (Taekwondo)
12- Kianoush Rostami (Weightlifting)
13- Elahe Mansourian (Wushu)
14- Men's Basketball

Of course I haven't ranked most wrestlers as we won't know who will win the trials but will include them in a new list before the games.

I like your list. even though winning gold medal for our girls in Wushu is almost impossible. they never beat Chinese top athletes before. yeah we hear a lot about us winning gold in the world champs in Wushu but that's only because China can send 3 athletes out of 7 weight classes ! nobody beat China in women's Sanda before. (Iranian had beat Chinese before but only 2nd string Chinese athletes in minor events)

and also Kimia Alizadeh has to compete one weight up her normal bodyweight, she will be in disadvantage in Jakarta beside that she is recovering from a long injury , she just won the Fajr Cup today but I prefer to judge her better after the Asian Champs. she is a great champion, if in shape she has a chance for gold but the level is high in Asia with Korea and the rest.

with China and Kazakhstan being banned , Rostami has a huge chance for gold. he only has one serious opponent from Uzbekistan. I know he is a jerk and does stupid things though. btw I read somewhere that CHN and KAZ are lobbying to compete in Jakarta but apparently it didn't work for them.

about our wrestlers, now I have a better image about our chance after the 1st round of our trials. we still don't know our own team but I know in which weights we have more chance for the gold.

Freestyle

57kg: even bronze medal is hard to achieve if Rahimi moves up to another weight. Rahimi himself failed to win medal in Asian Games twice ! the level is very high in Asia in this weight and our best wrestler Reza Atri isn't any good.

65kg: we are very weak in this weight, Younes Emami failed to win a medal in Asia and Biabani isn't any better. even though medal is always possible with a good draw but gold is almost impossible in this weight.

74kg: Hosseinkhani lost the final yesterday but he still has a good chance to make the team during the final trials. there is no great Asian wrestler in this weight, the top guy Abdurakhmanov from UZB lost to Hosseinkhani in Asian Champs. but Hosseinkhani lost to another guy. he is not someone we can count on to win the gold medal but gold is not impossible for him. I give him 20% chance for the gold.

86kg: Yazdani is a 99% chance for gold, even our 2nd guy in this weight Alireza Karimi can win the gold easily and that's the only thing making me worry ! I hope our federation doesn't try to be "smart" and send Karimi to the AG to save Yazdani for the worlds. even if Karimi has a great chance for the gold. I prefer to send our very best wrestler. this is his right also. winning Asian Games gold brings more prize money award than the winning the world championships.

97kg: Goleij is our best chance in this weight. none of other guys in trials convinved me ! and he has only one serious opponent in Asia. that Uzbek guy Ibragimov who pinned Yazdani in Rio. he is now 4-0 with Iranians !!! he beat Yazdani, Shahbazi, Mohammadi and Goleij himself in period of 2 years when he switched to Uzbekistan (he is originally Russian) Goleij could beat him in Asian Champs final with a better strategy. he started too late. so I believe he has a good chance to beat this oldman next time they meet.

125kg: this year we had two Georgian wrestlers in Asian Champs final representing Uzbekistan and Qatar ! with Komeil Ghasemi we have a good chance to win the gold here. but he didn't wrestle much since Rio. we don't know about his current shape. even without him I believe Parviz Hadi has a chance to beat those Georgian wrestlers.

so in summary. 86kg is a sure thing. then 97kg. we also have a chance at 125 and then 74. no chance for 57 and 65

Greco

60kg: well. if Mardani recovers. we might have a slim chance for the bronze. the level is very high in Asia.

67kg: again no chance to be realistic. Eliasi finished 5th in the worlds but he was absent since then. if he recovers he might stands a chance. but gold is very unlikely

77kg: we have two great wrestlers in this weight. Geraei and Abdevali. they both can win the gold in Asia. I prefer Abdevali if he stops being childish.

87kg: Hossein Nouri is the clear favorite for the gold. there is no great Asian wrestler in this weight.

97kg: I consider Mostafa Salehizadeh as our best chance for gold in Greco. he is like a tank and improving year by year.

130kg: Behnam Mehdizadeh won the last two Asian competitions. beating all of his opponents. which makes him the favorite for the gold but in this weight you usually can't dominate your opponents and it usually comes to cautions and penalties where refs usually give points against us !!