TEHRAN – Iran defeated Qatar 46-25 at the 1st Asian Men’s U17 Handball Championship on Saturday.

The win marks Iran’s sixth victory in the campaign, as the Persians had previously defeated the Maldives, Syria, South Korea, Kuwait, and Jordan.

The young Team Melli booked their place in the semifinals and will play Bahrain on Tuesday.

South Korea will also play Qatar in another semifinals.

The competition started in Amman, Jordan, on Sept. 15 and will run until Sept. 25.

This championship marks the inaugural continental competition for the U17 men’s category in Asia.

It also serves as a qualification tournament for the 1st IHF Men’s U17 Handball World Championship, scheduled to take place in Morocco from Oct. 24 to Nov. 1.

The top two teams from the Asian Championship will qualify for the World Championship.

The championship was previously scheduled to be held in July but was postponed due to the conflict between Iran and Israel.