Asian Men’s Handball Championship:
Iran routs Australia to revive main-round hopes
Iran bounced back from a first-day setback against Saudi Arabia to rout Australia 39-13 in Group D of the Asian Men’s Handball Championship in Kuwait on Saturday.
Mehran Rahnama topped the scoring chart 10 goals, with Ali Heidarian and Milad Qalandari contributing with eight and six goals, respectively, while Pouya Norouzinejad was named the Man of the Match.
Caleb Gahan was Australia’s top scorer with seven goals.
The victory lifted Iran to second in the group table on two points, thanks to a superior goal difference over Japan, ahead of the winner-takes-all meeting between the two sides today.
The game will be a rematch of the of main-round encounter at the previous edition, which two-time champion Japan won 25-23 before ultimately falling to Qatar in the final.
Four-time bronze medalist Saudi Arabia, which had beaten Iran 24-22 in their opener on Thursday, defeated Japan 27-24 later on Saturday to seal qualification for the next round ahead of today’s dead-rubber against Australia.
The top two teams from each of the four groups will advance to the main round, where they will be divided into two groups of four.
Elsewhere, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates maintained their perfect run with a second successive victory in Group C to book a place in the main round.
The host country eased to a 39-25 win against Hong Kong to sit atop the group table, while the UAE hammered India 43-21.
The top spot in the group will be at stake when Kuwait and the UAE go head-to-head today.
The 22nd edition of the flagship continental event also serves as the World Championship qualifiers, with the four semifinalists punching tickets for the 2027 showpiece in Germany.