Handballers of Iran national squad topped the group level ranking after winning over Japan in group A of the 18th Asian Handball Championships in Suwon, South Korea on Saturday.
Iran beat Uzbekistan 38-27 in its first group match on Friday. In the second match the national team faced Japan and beat the East Asian rival 37-32 to sit on top of the group, IRNA reported.
Milad Masaeli was Iran’s topscorer by netting eight goals against Japan. Also, Shinnosuke Tokuda scored 10 goals and became the topscorer of the game for the Japan squad.
The competition comprises of 14 teams in four groups (two groups of three teams and two with four teams). A total of eight teams (two top teams from each group) have qualified for the next round of the tournament.
The eight qualified teams have been divided in two groups of four with Iran being in Group 1 together with Oman, South Korea and Saudi Arabia. Group 2 consists of Japan, Bahrain, Qatar and the UAE.
Iran will face Saudi Arabia on January 22, South Korea on Jan. 23 and Oman on Jan. 24.
If the national handballers finish on one of the first two spots, they will enter the semifinals on Jan. 26. The final game is slated for Jan. 28.
A likely presence among the top four teams of the tournament means Iran would automatically gain the quota for the 2019 World Men’s Handball Championship to be held jointly in Denmark and Germany.
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