IHF Men’s U-17 Handball World Championship:
Iran handed Germany, Argentina, Puerto Rico tests in preliminary round
Iranian boys were pitted against the Germany, Argentina, and Puerto Rico in Group C at the inaugural IHF Men’s U-17 Handball World Championship – starting October 24 in Casablanca, Morocco.
The draw for the of the preliminary round of the competition was held on Thursday, with 12 teams split into three groups.
The winners of each group will be joined by the best second-placed side in the semifinals.
Morocco, as the host, had the prerogative to choose its group after three teams were already drawn and it chose Group A, where it will face Egypt, Brazil and the United States.
In Group B, Spain will meet Tunisia, South Korea and Qatar, with the other four teams.
Iran will head to Casablanca fresh off a sensational title-winning campaign at the 1st Asian Men’s U-17 Handball Championship in September, thanks to 28-25 victory over South Korea in the final showpiece in Amman, Jordan.
The final triumph rounded off an emphatic run for the Iranian boys, who completed a clean sweep of eight wins in the Jordanian capital.
Iran began its campaign with a 65-4 hammering of Maldives, and went on to defeat Syria (44-22) and South Korea (31-25) to win the group in the preliminary phase.
The first game in the main round saw Iran beat Kuwait 35-30, followed by a 42-22 rout of the host team, and a commanding 46-25 win against Qatar on for a top-spot finish in Group 2.
Iran then hammered Bahrain 37-19 in the semifinals to punch the ticket for Casablanca.