History-making Iran into last 16 of world U19 handball meet
Iran secured a first-ever place in the round of 16 at the IHF Men’s U19 Handball World Championship in Croatia.
Fourteen years after the country’s last participation at the event, Iranian boys defeated Burundi 46-24 on Saturday to win Group H with five points.
Amirhossein Karami delivered a man-of-the-match performance, scoring a game-high 14 goals to lead Majid Rahimizadeh’s side to a second victory in the competition.
Later in the day, the Faroe Islands stunned handball powerhouse Sweden by a 34-31 scoreline to join Iran in Group IV of the last 16 – also featuring Germany and Saudi Arabia.
Iran will resume action in the next round today against Saudi Arabia – in a repeat of last year’s semifinals in the Asian Championship in Bahrain, where Iran had edged the Saudis 34-33 before suffering a defeat against South Korea in the final.
Iran opened its campaign in Croatia with a 26-26 draw against Sweden and went on to beat the Faroe Islands 29-27.