Iran national indoor hockey team finished third at the 5th Indoor Hockey World Cup in Germany to win its first international medal in Berlin, February 6-11.
The players hammered Australia 5-0 to win the bronze medal in the history of hockey for Iran. Reza Nourzadeh netted 16 points for Iran in the tournament which put him on the second place of the topscorers ranking.
With a remarkable performance from the beginning, Iran beat Switzerland in the first match 5-1. In the second and third matches Iran finished in a draw against Belgium and Austria both 3-3.
According to the website of the games, Fih.ch, South Africa was the fourth Iran rival in the Pool B and left the match 6-3 to face Russia in the next round of the games.
The Russians were tough but again Iran was the winner with a 4-3 result entering the quarterfinals against the Czech squad.
In a close encounter Iran and the Czech team each scored 2 goals to go to shootouts to determine the winner. Iran was luckier and beat Czech 2-1 in the shootouts to enter the semis.
At the semifinals Iran had to face world No. 1, Germany. Not fortunate enough, Iran lost the match 6-2 and failed to enter the finals.
Iran indoor hockey team currently holds the 7th place in the world ranking and did a great job during the tournament facing World No. 1 Germany, No. 2, Austria, No. 4 Russia and No. 6 the Czech Republic.
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