TEHRAN – Iran are on the verge of qualifying for the 2022 Women's Junior World Handball Championship after defeating Uzbekistan 25-21 in the 2022 Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship on Sunday.

Iran lost to Kazakhstan 30-24 in their opening match but defeated India (42-37) and Thailand (28-21)  in their next matches.

The Championship is the 16th edition of the championship scheduled to be held from Mar. 7 to 14 in Almaty, Kazakhstan under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation.

Kazakhstan, Iran, Uzbekistan, India and Thailand compete in the edition.

It’s the fifth time in history that the championship is be organized by the Kazakhstan Handball Federation.

It also acts as the qualification tournament for the 2022 Women's Junior World Handball Championship, with top two teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event to be held in Slovenia.

On Monday, Kazakhstan will play Uzbekistan and India meet Thailand.

Iran will advance to the world championship if end the competition as top two finishers.