TEHRAN – Taekwondo female athlete Nahid Kiani along with shooter Javad Foroughi led Iran contingent in the opening ceremony of the 19th Asian Games at the Hangzhou Olympic Sports Center Stadium on Saturday.

Chinese President Xi Jinping opened the COVID-delayed 19th Asian Games in the Eastern city of Hangzhou during a spectacular and at times raucous ceremony on Saturday.

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.

Iran has sent 289 male and female athletes to the Games in 34 sports events.