TEHRAN – Iran were edged by South Korea 27-26 at the 2024 Asian Handball Championship on Monday to come in sixth place.

Team Melli defeated New Zealand, China and the UAE in this edition but lost to South Korea (twice), Japan and Qatar.

The 2024 Asian Men's Handball Championship is the 21st edition of the championship started on Jan. 11 in Bahrain, under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation (AHF), and will run until Jan. 25.

It’s the third time in history that the championship is organized by the Bahrain Handball Federation.

It also acts as a qualification tournament for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship, with top four teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event.