History in the Making: Iran’s Women Boxers Head to the Asian Games

In October 2025, three teenage girls made history in Bahrain as Iran’s first female boxers to compete internationally. And according to Iranian news, less than a year later, Iranian women’s boxing is preparing to reach another milestone, with women set to represent the country in boxing at the Asian Games for the first time.

Sarina Naghsh, competing at 65 kg, and Parmida Khoshkhabar, competing at 75 kg, are set to become the first Iranian women to step into an Asian Games boxing ring.

It will be a landmark moment in a boxing history that stretches back almost seven decades.

Iranian boxing made its Asian Games debut in Tokyo in 1958. Nine Iranian men entered the competition and returned home with six medals, beginning a long history for the country in Asian Games boxing.

Now, 68 years later, that story returns to Japan with a new chapter.

For the first time, women will be part of Iran’s boxing delegation.

The milestone reflects the rapid development of women’s boxing in Iran. For years, the possibility of establishing a women’s national programme remained a subject of discussion. Changes to international competition regulations, including provisions allowing athletes to compete wearing hijab, helped create new opportunities for Iranian women to enter the sport.

That progress has accelerated in recent years, with a new generation of female boxers beginning to represent Iran internationally.

Aichi Nagoya 2026 will mark the biggest step yet.

Naghsh and Khoshkhabar will join five male teammates in Iran’s seven boxer delegation, but their presence carries significance far beyond the number of athletes travelling to Japan.

When they enter the ring, they will represent the first generation of Iranian women to compete in boxing at the Asian Games.

From Tokyo 1958 to Aichi Nagoya 2026, Iran’s Asian Games boxing story has been 68 years in the making.

This September, two women will write its newest chapter.