China won the men's final at the IBSA Goalball Asia Pacific Championships in Thailand's capital Bangkok ©Getty Images

China beat Iran to defend their men’s title at the International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball Asia Pacific Championships in Bangkok but the country suffered heartache in the women’s final after losing to Japan.

The Chinese won what was a repeat of the 2015 men's final 10-2 at the Thai-Japanese Stadium in Thailand’s capital.

Earlier, Japan had beaten their East Asian rivals 6-2 in the women’s gold medal match.

The top two teams at the Championships were awarded quotas for the 2018 IBSA Goalball World Championships in Swedish city Malmö.

Japan beat China to the women's crown ©Getty Images
Japan beat China to the women's crown ©Getty Images

The men’s semi-finals had seen China thrash Australia 10-0 and Iran edge Japan 4-3.

Japan overcame Australia 11-3 in the bronze medal match.

In the penultimate round of the women’s event, which was contested yesterday, Japan beat South Korea 8-1 and Rio 2016 Paralympic silver medallists China defeated Australia 7-3.

Australia overcame South Korea 10-2 in the bronze medal match.