Asian Handball Championship:
Iran edges China to progress into main round
Iran secured a place in the main-round group stage of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship after a 24-22 victory over China in Isa Town, Bahrain.
Iran got off to a flying start in Sunday’s game and took a 15-10 lead at halftime before holding off China’s improved performance in the second period to stand second to South Korea in Group B of the preliminary phase on goal difference.
Mohammadreza Oraei topped the scoring chart for Iran with six goals, with Mojtaba Heidarpour and Afshin Sadeqi bagging five and four goals respectively.
Iranian goalkeeper Mohammad Siavoshi, meanwhile, made his contribution with a heroic performance, which saw him take the player-of-the-match prize.
Zhou Ao netted a game-high seven goals for China, while Ji Yu had six.
This was a second successive victory for Iran in Bahrain following the first-day 40-13 demolishing of New Zealand.
The top spot of the group will be at stake when Majid Rahimzadeh’s side takes on record nine-time champion South Korea today.
The top two of the four groups will progress to the main round – comprising two groups.
The four semifinalists will qualify for next year’s World Championship in Croatia, Denmark, and Norway.