The national Iranian men’s handball team has lost to the Czech Republic in a warm-up match for the 2016 Asian Men’s Volleyball Championship in Bahrain next year.
On Monday, the Iranian squad, comprised of Saeed Heidarirad, Ehsan Abouei, Pouya Norouzinejad, Afshin Sadeqi, Salman Barbat, Shahou Nosrati and Omid Sekenari, lost out to the Central European side 32-38 in a match played in the Polish city of Vrotslav.
The Persians began the game played on a high note and proved their dominance for the first few minutes of the first period.
The Czech Republic then showed it was strong-minded, and finally managed to establish the lead and surge ahead.
The Czech handball players could finally claim the first period 21-14.
Iranian sportsmen could build up the lead in the second period, and staged a convincing performance to pull off a narrow victory by 18 points to 17.
The Czech handball team eventually emerged triumphant at the end of the match due to a higher scoreline.
The Iranian team is currently camping in Vrotslav, Poland, and is scheduled to play two other games against Poland and Ukraine.
The 2016 Asian Men's Volleyball Championship, which will be the 17th edition of the tournament, will be staged in the Bahraini capital, Manama, during yet to be determined dates.
On November 27, Iran’s national handball team failed to secure a place in the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics after a 28-19 loss against Qatar in the final showdown of the 2015 Asian Qualification Tournament for the Olympic Games.
Earlier in the day, Bahrain defeated South Korea 34-21 in the third-place playoff match.
The 2015 Asian Qualification Tournament for the 2016 Summer Olympics started in Doha, Qatar, on November 14 and finished on November 27. Qatar, as the winner of the tournament, qualified for the handball event of the 2016 Summer Olympics.
The handball tournament at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro will be held from August 6 to 21, 2016, at the Olympic Training Center.