'Historic Humiliation': China's Basketball Collapses Against Iran, Facing Medal-less Shame as Football Also Declines... [Aichi Nagoya AG]

*This content was translated by AI.View Original

It is a humiliation. The Chinese national team Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO), Asia's most decorated basketball nation, fell to Iran in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games bronze medal match, suffering the indignity of finishing without a medal.

On the 20th, China lost 70-79 to Iran in the men's basketball bronze medal match held at Nagoya, Japan, concluding the tournament in fourth place. This marks only the second time in Chinese men's basketball history at the Asian Games that the team failed to win a medal. Following their fifth-place finish at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games, this is the second-worst performance in the nation's history.

Notably, Iran, which sank China, had previously suffered a heavy defeat against South Korea in the semifinals. Led by Latvian coach Nicolas Mazurs, the South Korean national team decisively defeated Iran, ranked 28th by FIBA and third at the 2025 Asia Cup, with a score of 77-51 in the semifinal held on the 18th at Aichi International Arena, advancing to the Asian Games final for the first time in 12 years.

On this day, China started strong, leading 17-12 after the first quarter and maintained a narrow advantage of 31-29 at halftime after a closely contested second quarter.

However, once the third quarter began, Iran's long-range shooting exploded, instantly seizing control of the game. China trailed by 11 points (15-26) in the third quarter alone and fell behind 46-55. In the fourth quarter, China mounted a comeback with consecutive three-pointers to narrow the gap to one point, but they conceded back-to-back points at crucial moments. Even their intentional foul strategy failed, sealing a nine-point defeat.

Immediately after the match, local fans on Chinese media outlet 'Sohu.com' launched fierce criticism against the national team's performance and coach Guo Shiqiang. Netizens commented: "Finally won a medal—iron," "Too ashamed to stand on the podium, so they even gave up third place? They've lost all dignity," "In Yao Ming and Yi Jianlian's era, Asia was easily dominated; those days are missed," and "Coach Guo Shiqiang refuses to admit his mistakes even in death. He must be fired immediately."

Reactions comparing the match results with South Korea's performance also followed. One local netizen pointed out, "South Korea crushed Iran 77-51 in the semifinals, while China lost. The gap between us and Japan is widening." Other netizens expressed heightened frustration: "Both teams played poorly, shooting wildly and only hitting the rim," "The national team players showed no fighting spirit at all," "Football has declined, and now basketball too. All three major ball sports that require handling the ball have completely collapsed on the Asian stage," and "Buy your own plane tickets to return home."

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*This content was translated by AI.View Original