Asian Men’s U-17 Handball Championship:
Iran routs Qatar, sets last-four date with Bahrain
Iranian boys continued their perfect run at the inaugural Asian Men’s U-17 Handball Championship, hammering Qatar 46-25 for a sixth victory in as many outings in Amman, Jordan, on Sunday.
The victory saw Iran finish atop the main round’s Group 2 table and set up a semifinal clash with Group 2 runner-up Bahrain at the Jordian capital’s Princess Sumaya Hall today.
Hassan Joudaki and Shayan Sousani each scored a game-high six goals for Iran, with the former awarded with the Man of the Match prize.
Meanwhile, Iranians Danial Mirhosseini, Mohammad-Pouya Parouhan, Amirhossein Nikeqbal, and Farshad Nowruzpour each contributed with five goals, with Rashid Madadi and Alan Almubarek jointly topping Qatar’s scoring chart with four goals apiece.
South Korea and Qatar will square off in the other semifinal today, with the two last-four winners heading into Wednesday’s final showpiece, while securing a spot at the 1st IHF Men’s U-17 Handball World Championship – starting October 24 in in Morocco.
Iran began its campaign in Amman with a 65-4 hammering of Maldives, and then went on to defeat Syria (44-22) and South Korea (31-25) to win Group D in the preliminary round.
The first game in the main round saw Iran beat Asia’s traditional handball powerhouse Kuwait 35-30, before sweeping the host team 42-22 on Saturday.