'Historic Humiliation': Chinese Basketball Collapses Against Iran, Facing Medal-less Shame as "Football Also Fell..."

*This content was translated by AI.

It is a humiliation. China, the most decorated Asian basketball nation, Nam Ja-nong-gu (CEO), fell to Iran in the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games men's basketball 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 they failed to win a medal. It is their second-worst performance since finishing fifth at the 2014 Incheon Asian Games.

Notably, Iran, which sank China, had previously suffered a heavy defeat against South Korea in the semifinals. Led by Latvian coach Nicholas Mazulis, the South Korean national team decisively defeated Iran, ranked 28th in 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 momentum. China trailed by 11 points (15-26) in the third quarter alone and fell behind 46-55. In the fourth quarter, they mounted a comeback with consecutive three-pointers to narrow the gap to one point, but they conceded back-to-back points at critical moments, and even their 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 — an iron one," "Are they too ashamed to stand on the podium that 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 results with South Korea's match also followed. One local netizen pointed out, "South Korea crushed Iran 77-51 in the semifinals, while China lost. The gap between them and Japan is widening." Other netizens expressed heightened frustration: "Both teams played poorly, shooting wildly and only hitting the rim," "There wasn't even any fighting spirit shown by the national team players," "Basketball has now fallen alongside football. The three major ball sports that handle the ball have completely collapsed on the Asian stage," and "Buy your own plane tickets to come back."

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*This content was translated by AI.