Asian Women’s Youth Handball Championship:
Iran defeats Hong Kong, to play Chinese Taipei for fifth spot
Iranian girls claimed a comfortable 32-15 win against Hong Kong on Wednesday to remain on course for a consolation fifth-place finish at the Asian Women's Youth Handball in Jinggangshan, China.
Diana Rezaei delivered a player-of-the-match performance as Iran secured a second victory at the competition, having beaten India 42-30 in the final game in Group B.
The win had seen Iran finish third in the group table behind reigning champion Japan and South Korea.
Iran began its campaign with a 40-27 loss to Japan on the opening day of the event, before falling short by the same scoreline against South Korea, which was beaten by Japan in the final showpiece of the previous edition in 2023.
Standing between Iran and the fifth spot – and a place at the 2026 IHF Youth World Championship – in today’s showdown at the Gymnasium of Jiangxi University of Software Professional Technology is Chinese Taipei, which came out victorious (29-24) against India earlier on Wednesday.
This is the 11th edition of the flagship age-group continental event. South Korea is the most-decorated team of the competition with a remarkable eight titles, with Iran and Japan winning the previous two editions.