Iran confirms women’s roster for World Handball Championship
French head coach Ana Seabra has unveiled Iran’s 16-woman squad for the upcoming IHF Women’s World Handball Championship, which will kick off on Wednesday in Germany and the Netherlands.
Fatemeh Khalili, Zahra Afshari, Mina Vatanparast, Sanaz Rajabi, Hanieh Karimi, Fatemeh Merrikhi, Hediyeh Hafez, Setareh Rahmanian, Mojgan Qahremani, Nastaran Goodarzi, Hadiseh Noruzi, Atiyeh Shahsavari, Arezou Kiani Ara, Bahar Izadgashb, Aseman Badvi, and Leila Hosseini will represent the country at the 27th edition of the sport’s flagship international event.
Iran will open its Group B campaign against Switzerland in the Dutch city of ’s-Hertogenbosch on Thursday, before facing Hungary on Saturday and Senegal on Monday.
The top three teams in the group will advance to the main-round phase, while the bottom side will compete for 25th–32nd places in the President’s Cup.
Iran, which finished fourth at the Asian Championship last year to secure its berth at the tournament, will be making its third appearance at the competition. The team enters the event fresh off a historic bronze medal at the recently concluded Islamic Solidarity Games in Riyadh, where Seabra’s side defeated Uzbekistan 29–25 in the third-place match.