I.R. Iran won bronze medal in 2nd IHF Men’s Youth (U18) Beach Handball World Championship
19 June 2022
The Islamic Republic of Iran won a bronze medal by defeating France by 2–0 (20–16; 19–18) in the 2nd IHF Men’s Youth (U18) Beach Handball World Championship. The event took place at the Karteros Beach Sports Center, Heraklion, Greece from 14th to 19th June 2022.
This is the first ever medal won by any Asian country at the IHF Men’s Youth (U18) Beach Handball World Championship.
The heroes of the bronze medal match for I.R. Iran were Hamed Shams Falavarjani and Mostafa Enteshari Najafabadi, who scored 12 points each in the match. Ali Heidarian added 10 points for the I.R. Iran team, and goalkeeper Matin Goldan had a 24% save rate to contribute to the bronze medal win. Arad Hosseini Gohari only scored one point in the game, but it was crucial. He sinks to the ground, flat on the sand, to score the golden goal to decide the 2nd period as well as the bronze medal. While he is having a rest on the sand, the rest of his teammates pick up coach Mehdi Ghashghaeirad and throw him up and down in celebration.
The Islamic Republic of Iran was drawn in Group A along with Sweden, Qatar, and the United States of America (USA). Iran defeated both Qatar and the United States by 2–0, but lost to Sweden by 2–0. I. R. Iran finished the group in 2nd position with 4 points, whereas Qatar was in 3rd position in the group.
Another Asian nation to qualify for the event was Jordan, which was placed in Group C along with hosts Greece, Spain and the Czech Republic. On the first day of the event, Jordan caused a big upset by defeating Spain by 2–1. Jordan also defeated Greece by 2–1, but lost to the Czech Republic by a score of 2–0. Jordan finished 2nd in the group and advanced to the main round.
Qatar and Jordan could not make it to the quarter-finals through the main round of matches and finished the event in 10th and 12th place, respectively.
Hence, I. R. Iran was the only Asian nation to make it into the quarter-finals of the event. Iran defeated Argentina by 2–1 in the quarter-finals. Iran was defeated by Brazil in the semi-finals by 2–1.
Ali Heidarian of the Islamic Republic of Iran was awarded the best pivot award of the event.
On behalf of the Asian Handball Federation, President His Highness Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah (Kuwait) wants to congratulate all the players and the coaching staff of the I.R. Iran team as well as the Islamic Republic of Iran Handball Federation (IRIHF) on this great achievement.
Final Rankings:
- Croatia
- Brazil
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- France
- Argentina
- Ukraine
- Spain
- Germany
- Sweden
- Qatar
- Czech Republic
- Jordan
- Greece
- Uruguay
- Togo
- United States of America
Photo Courtesy: International Handball Federation
