Iran defeats Kuwait in 2026 Asian Youth Handball Championship

Iran defeated Taipei China with a score of 3:0 (25–18, 25–19, 25–21) in the Round of 16 match of the 2026 U17 Men's Volleyball World Championship, which took place in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday.

Iran advances to the quarterfinals of the 2026 FIVB U17 Volleyball World Championship

In the match, Iran showed strong play, with Sina Hazrati scoring 20 points for his team, while Po Wei Huang scored 17 points for Taipei China. Previously, the Iranian team confidently passed Group E by defeating Algeria 3:0, Pakistan 3:0, and Taipei China 3:0.

Thanks to this victory, the Iranian team, led by Arash Sadeghiani, managed to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. Iran traditionally demonstrates significant success in youth volleyball categories, so participation in the U17 World Championship is of particular importance to them.

Italy won the first edition of this championship in 2024, defeating Argentina in the final. Now Iran intends to challenge the strongest teams and win a spot in the medal fight.

During the friendly tournament in Ufa, the Iranian national team lost to Belarus with a score of 3:2 on Saturday. The final match score was 25-21, 22-25, 21-25, 25-23, 7-15.

Prior to this, Iran had already lost to the Russian team with a score of 3:1, but in the first two games of the tournament, they won against Cuba with a score of 3:0.

The team managed by Roberto Piazza is using this tournament as part of its preparation for the 2026 Asian Games. At these Games, Iran is placed in Group B along with Indonesia, Thailand, and Kyrgyzstan.

The men's volleyball tournament at the 2026 Asian Games will be the twentieth edition of the event. It is organized by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC) together with the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) and will take place in Aichi, Japan, from September 27 to October 3.

Iran concluded its participation in the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026, finishing in sixth place after a loss to Japan with a score of 88:83 on Sunday.

Iran takes sixth place at the FIBA U18 Asia Cup 2026

In the match against Japan, Iran showed a performance where Mohammad Kamel Khaledi scored 26 points, while Kaito from Japan led the game with 30 points.

The final match on Sunday will feature Australia and China, and the bronze medal match will be played between New Zealand and South Korea.

The four teams that entered the top-4 secured a spot in the FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup 2027, which will take place in Pardubice, Czech Republic.

This twenty-eighth youth championship tournament took place from August 13 to August 23, with games held at the Vir Savarkar indoor stadium in Ahmedabad, India.