Asian Men’s Handball Championships:
Iran to vie for 11th spot after China setback
Iran will look to secure 11th place in the Asian Men’s Handball Championship when it faces Jordan at the Kuwait Handball Association Hall in Da’iya today.
The match follows a 33-23 loss to China on Sunday, which saw Iran finish second in Group IV of the Martyr Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Cup – the classification bracket for 9th to 15th places.
Spanish head coach Rafael Guijosa fielded a young, new-look roster for the China game, resting star players Pouya Norouzinejad, Mohammadreza Oraei, Yassin Kabirian, Vahid Masoudi, and Saber Heidari. Ali Heidarian led the Iranian scoring with eight goals, supported by six from Mehran Rahanama and four from Alireza Mousavi.
For China, Fangwei Sun led all scorers with eight goals, while Hao Wang added six.
Iran’s campaign in the 22nd edition began with a narrow 24-22 loss to four-time bronze medalist Saudi Arabia in Group D of the preliminary round. The team rebounded strongly with a 39-13 rout of Australia in its second outing.
A draw in its final preliminary game against Japan would have secured Iran a main-round spot. However, after holding a five-goal lead in the second half, Guijosa’s side collapsed in the final moments, conceding a winner from Daisuke Tanaka for a crushing 30-29 Japanese victory.
Iran recovered to beat India 39-16 in its Group IV opener last Thursday and routed Australia once more, 37-17, on Friday.
In today’s semifinals, 2024 finalist Japan will meet Bahrain, while defending champion Qatar faces host nation Kuwait for the other spot in Thursday’s final.
The continental championship also serves as a qualifier for the 2027 World Championship in Germany, with the four semifinalists securing berths.