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Iran handball set for uphill battle at Asian Games without overseas players
With Croatian Nenad Kljaić set to make his debut as Iran coach, his team has been placed in Group B alongside Bahrain, South Korea, Kuwait and Kazakhstan – a cast described by national team player Yasin Kabirianjou as the “group of death.”
The group features at least three of Asia’s established handball powers. Bahrain won the Asian Championship title in January, while Kuwait finished third in the continental competition. South Korea, meanwhile, have traditionally been one of Asia’s strongest sides and will also use the Asian Games as part of their preparations for the World Championship.
“Kazakhstan were not in the previous edition, so we do not have much knowledge about this team,” Kabirianjou told IRNA. “I doubt they are a strong team, but Kuwait, South Korea and Bahrain will certainly come with powerful teams again.”
The Iranian said the tournament would be particularly demanding because of changes to the competition format. “The previous Asian Games had four groups, but now there are only two,” he said. “The format, the number of teams and the groupings have all changed, so qualifying from the group will be very difficult this time.”
At the Hangzhou Asian Games, Iran were placed in a more favorable preliminary group and advanced to the next round after beating New Zealand and drawing with Saudi Arabia.
The task in Nagoya is expected to be significantly tougher, particularly with Iran potentially missing several key players who are based in European leagues.
Iran Handball Federation president Alireza Pakdel has confirmed that negotiations to bring the overseas-based players to the Asian Games have effectively reached a dead end because the continental event clashes with European club competitions.
Players including Pouya Norouzinejad, Mehran Rahnama and Seyyed Alireza Mousavi, who play in European leagues, are therefore unlikely to join the national team in Japan.
Their absence could force Kljaić to rely on a younger squad, representing a significant change from the team that competed in previous major tournaments and potentially reducing Iran’s chances of challenging for a medal.
Despite the difficult circumstances, Kabirianjou believes Iran can draw encouragement from its previous encounters with some of the group opponents.
“South Korea have been one of Iran’s rivals for many years, and we have a history of beating them,” he said.
Iran will also have to contend with the physical and tactical demands of a compressed international schedule after recent concerns over its ability to maintain performance levels late in matches.
Kabirianjou acknowledged that the team’s tendency to concede ground during the final 10 minutes of games has been extensively analyzed, with different explanations offered for the problem.
“Experts have analyzed those final 10 minutes extensively,” he said. “Some said it was a physical problem, and the federation brought in a good fitness coach. Others said it was a problem with the head coach, and a good coach was added.”
Iran’s most successful run at the Asian Games came in Guangzhou 2010, where the country settled for silver following a defeat by South Korea in the final.