Iran beaten by Qatar, misses out on World Handball Championship berth
Sports Desk
A second successive defeat in the main round of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship saw Iran fail to progress to the last four in Bahrain and miss out on a place in next year’s World Handball Championship.
Having suffered a 25-23 loss to Japan in the Group I opener, Majid Rahimizadeh’s men did a great job to bounce back from a 15-13 deficit at halftime against the Asian powerhouse and level the scoreline at 20-20, before the five-time defending champion restored the lead in the closing stages to win 27-23.
Cuban-born Frankis Marzo contributed a game-high nine goals for Qatar, followed by Ahmad Madadi, who finished on five.
Mojtaba Heidarpour topped the scoring chart for Iran with seven goals, with Kiarash Taheri and Reza Ezzati chipping three apiece.
The result meant Qatar is joined by Japan, which defeated the United Arab Emirates 29-26 later on Friday, in the semifinals, and the top spot of the group will be at stake when the two sides square off in Isa Town’s Sheikh Khalifa Sports City Hall today.
Iran, third in the table on goal difference, will face the UAE today with a win or draw sending Rahimizadeh’s side into the fifth-place contest on Thursday.
This is first major tournament for Iran under Rahimizadeh, who replaced Montenegrin Veselin Vujović following a group exit in October’s Asian qualifiers for the Paris Olympics.
Vujović steered Iran to the fourth place in the previous edition of the Asian Championship in Saudi Arabia two years ago and a spot at the 2023 world event.