TEHRAN – Iran eased past New Zealand 53-21 in their 2020 Asian Men's Handball Championship opener on Friday.

Team Melli will play Bahrain in Group A at the Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex in Kuwait City on Saturday.

Group B consists of Qatar, Japan and China.

South Korea, Australia and Saudi Arabia are in Group C and Kuwait, Iraq, the UAE and Hong Kong are drawn in Group D.

The 2020 Asian Men's Handball Championship will be the 19th edition of the championship held under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation at Kuwait City, Kuwait from Jan. 16 to 27.

It acts as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship in Egypt.