The Iranian sprinter finished in the third place with a time of 10.47 seconds in the men’s 100m heat 4 behind Oman’s Malham Al Balushi (10.41) and China’s Wang Shengjie (10.41).
Taftian will lock horns with his rivals in the semifinal on Wednesday.
The 26th Asian Athletics Championships take place from May 27 to 31 in Gumi, South Korea.