Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship:
Iran finishes fourth but finds consolation with world spot
Iran missed out on the bronze medal at the Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship in Amman, Jordan, after suffering a 29-28 setback against South Korea in the third-place contest on Monday.
The Iranian boys delivered a brave performance against the most decorated team in the history of the competition, leading 15-14 at halftime and still holding a one-goal advantage with one minute left on the clock. South Korea, however, scored twice through Oh Junseok, who finished with a game-high 12 goals, and Seong Jiseong in the closing seconds to secure a victory by the narrowest of margins.
Despite the late heartbreak, Iran still left the Jordanian capital with something to cheer about, as reaching the semifinals had already seen head coach Mohammadreza Rajabi’s boys qualify for next year’s IHF U19 World Championship.
Mohammad-Taha topped the scoring for Iran with seven goals, with Seyyed Mohammad Keshavarz adding six.
Farshad Norouzipour and Ali Ghayour, who was named to the tournament’s Dream Team as the Best Right Wing, contributed four goals apiece, as Iran – runner-up to South Korea in 2022 – achieved its second-best finish in the tournament since its bronze-winning run in the 2008 edition.
The Iranian boys kicked off their campaign with an impressive victory over Saudi Arabia – a 2024 semifinalist – in Group B, before falling short 24-22 against Qatar, which went on to beat Bahrain 28-24 in Monday’s final to claim its third gold medal and first since 2012.
Rajabi’s side, however, was quick to bounce back, defeating traditional Asian powerhouse Kuwait 21-18 and Syria 45-30 to finish second to Qatar in the group standings and advance to the quarterfinals.
Iran delivered yet another sublime showing to comprehensively defeat Uzbekistan 36-24 in the last eight and punch its ticket to the World Championship, before being undone 26-23 by Bahrain in Saturday’s semifinal clash.