TEHRAN - Iran defeated South Korea 9-7 at the IBSA Goalball Asia-Pacific Championships on Friday.

Team Melli, who had started the competition with a 16-10 win over Thailand Thailand at the Chiba Port Arena in Chiba, Japan, will take on Indonesia and China on Saturday.

In the men's event seven teams will be in action until Dec. 10, while six women teams will compete together.

The winners of each of the men’s and women’s competition, if not already qualified, will secure a ticket to Tokyo 2020.

Iran will hope to better their silver medal from 2017 when they lost out to China 10-2 in the final.

The team were also the top ranked Asian side from the 2018 Worlds, finishing just one place ahead of their rivals in sixth.

“The team’s ultimate ambition is to get a Tokyo 2020 slot and stand on the podium. Securing the gold medal last year improved our motivation but needless to say, any winning sets expectations higher for the athletes and the team,” Mohammad Tabe, , the Technical Director of the Iranian National Paralympic Committee, told IBSA.

“Japan and Australia could be named as the strong teams, and of course, China, considering their presence in the final round of the 2018 Asian Para Games, despite our win against them, could be one of the strongest teams,” he added.