China (IP) - The squad of Iranian athletes performed their parade in the inauguration ceremony of the 19th edition of the Asian Games on Saturday.

Iran PressAsia:  The Asian Games are scheduled to be held in China's Hangzhou from today, September 23, to October 8, 2023, with the Iranian squad participating under the name of 'Martyr Hojaji'. 

Javad Foroughi, the world's shooting champion, and Nahid Kiani, the first Iranian woman taekwondo world champion, were the flagbearers of the Iranian squad in the Olympic Sports Center Stadium.

The grand event hosts athletes in 40 sports fields who will compete to snatch 481 gold medals. 

The Games, delayed a year due to China's measures to combat the COVID-19 pandemic, will be the country's biggest sporting event in over a decade in several metrics, with around 12,000 athletes from 45 nations competing in 40 sports.

Like the 2008 Beijing Olympics and 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, local organizers hope Hangzhou can showcase the nation's strength and that home athletes will put China top of the medals table as they have done in the last ten editions.

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