Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship:
Iran edges Qatar to get back to winning ways
Iran edged five-time champion Qatar 26-25 in Group B on Sunday to remain on course for a quarterfinal berth at the Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship in Chuzhou, China.
Omid Enayatijoo led Iran with eight goals and was named Player of the Match, while Mahdi Teimouri and Amirhossein Karami added six and five goals, respectively.
The two sides traded blows throughout a closely contested encounter, with Iran’s youngsters repeatedly taking the lead against one of the tournament favorites.
Qatar, which has long relied on naturalized players to bolster its squad, struggled to cope with Iran’s disciplined tactics and energetic play. Iran goalkeeper Hossein Khojasteh produced a string of crucial saves in the closing stages to frustrate the Qataris and preserve his team’s narrow advantage.
The victory, Iran’s second in four matches, lifted the team to second in the Group B standings with five points, level with the United Arab Emirates but behind on goal difference.
Iran began its campaign with an impressive 29-27 victory over Kuwait—the most decorated team in the tournament’s history alongside Qatar—but suffered a 29-28 defeat to South Korea, the runner-up in the previous edition, before sharing the spoils with the UAE in a 25-25 draw on Friday.
Iran will return to action today against two-time defending champion Japan before concluding the preliminary round against India on Tuesday.
The top four teams from each of the two groups will advance to the quarterfinals.
Iran finished fifth in the 2024 edition, while its best-ever result came in 2008, when it claimed the silver medal after losing to Kuwait in the final.
The championship also serves as Asia’s qualifier for the 2027 IHF Men’s Junior (U21) World Championship in North Macedonia, with the four semifinalists securing places at the global showpiece.