IHF Women’s World Championship:
Iran off to losing start against Poland
Iran began its campaign at the IHF Women’s World Handball Championship – cohosted by Sweden, Norway, and Denmark – with a 35:15 defeat against Poland.
Participating at the flagship international tournament of the sport for only the second time, Iran struggled early on against the European side in Herning’s Jyske Bank Boxen on Thursday, turning the ball over on 18 occasions, as plenty of misplaced passes saw the Asians fall 9:1 behind before taking their first timeout.
The introduction of goalkeeper Fatemeh Khalili improved the Iranians’ defensive display, helping them embark on 6:4 run, but Poland coach Arne Senstad made several changes to turn things around.
The substitutions paid off as Poland went into halftime with an 18:8 advantage and then picked up where it left off before the break, extending the lead with a 4:1 run.
Iran tried to reduce the deficit by bringing in an extra outfield player but was left exposed in the back, with Poland – fourth-placed in the competition in 2013 and 2015 – making the most of the situation to seal the victory.
Magda Balsam and Dagmara Nocuń were Poland’s top scorers on the night with six goals apiece, while Iranian back Fatemeh Merrikh, who was among the top 10 scorers at last year’s Youth World Championship, also bagged six to grab the Player of the Match award.
Elsewhere in Group F of the preliminary round, Germany edged out Japan 31:30.
Having finished fourth in the Asian Championship last year for a second successive berth at the world event, Iran will be the clear underdog when taking on Germany today before Monday’s game against Japan – in a repeat of the Asian last-four encounter, which the Japanese won 43:19.
A place in the main-round groups might be far beyond the Iranians’ reach, but they will still be looking to have a decent run in the President’s Cup, which will decide the 25th-32nd places of the competition.