TEHRAN – Iran forward Samad Nikkhah Bahrami says that they will do their best to book the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games berth but it will not be an easy task.

The 2019 FIBA Basketball World Cup will kick off on Aug. 31 and the best Asian team will directly advance to the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Iran have been drawn in Pool C along with Spain, Puerto Rico and Tunisia.

“We are preparing for the 2019 World Cup and I think taking part at the warm up competitions will help us prepare for the World Cup,” Nikkhah Bahrami told Iran Republic News Agency (IRNA).

“We’ve had good days of training and now are ready to compete. Iran will have a difficult tournament in China but I am sure all players will battle to seal a berth in the Olympic, however it will not be an easy task,” he added.

“We don’t want to lose in the prestigious event and will do our best. But we know that the FIBA World Cup will be a difficult tournament since the teams can secure their places in the Olympics,” the 1.98 m player stated.

Nikkhah Bahrami says participating in a pre-tournament competition in China will help them to be more prepared for the FIBA World Cup.

“We also need to become accustomed with China’s weather condition. It could be helpful,” he went to say.

“The FIBA World Cup is a tough competition and is not predictable. The competition will bring 32 teams together and several teams will try to win the tournament. And the rest of the teams will do their best to secure Olympics berths. But I can assure you we will try to win a berth,” Nikkhah concluded.