Asian Women’s Handball Championship:
Iran facing mammoth task against South Korea in semifinals
Iran will be facing a daunting task when taking on South Korea in the Asian Women’s Handball Championship last four in New Delhi, India, today.
Iran defeated Hong Kong 26-17 at the Indira Gandhi Arena on Friday to head into a third successive semifinal as the runner-up in Group B.
Sanaz Rajabi contributed with a game-high six goals, while Iranian goalkeeper Fatemeh Khalili delivered a Player-of-the-Match performance as Iran finished second to Japan in the group table to secure a place in next year’s World Championship in Germany and the Netherlands.
Nashmin Shafeian’s girls got off to losing start in the group, suffering a 34-14 defeat against Japan, but bounced back to beat the host 32-30 in their second outing before Friday’s victory.
Today’s opponent however has proven to be in a league of its own when it comes to the Asian Championship, as former world and Olympic champion South Korea remains the ultimate favorite to claim a 17th title – seventh in a row – in the 20th edition of the competition.
South Korea routed Singapore 47-5 in their Group A opener, and then defeated Kazakhstan 30-20, before making a clean sweep of group victories with a 25-14 triumph over China.
Kazakhstan, which managed to beat China to the second place in the group with four points, will square off against Japan in the other semifinal.