TEHRAN - Bahram Ghadimi, president of Iran Hockey Federation, has asked the Ministry of Sport and Youth to support hockey more than before.

Iranian men’s team took the bronze medal in the FIH Indoor Hockey World Cup South Africa 2023.

The team led by Rajab Nourani beat the U.S. in the bronze medal match on Saturday. The match ended 4-4 in regular time but Iran won the game 3-2 on penalties.

“The performance of the Iranian players in the FIH indoor World Cup in South Africa proved that if they are supported, they have a high potential for beating big teams in the international competitions,” said Ghadimi after the Iran team’s success.

“In our first game of the tournament against Argentina, we were not lucky enough and we lost the game, but in the second and third games against Australia and the U.S, we showed our power by defeating these two teams,” he added.

Team Melli also claimed bronze in 2018 after beating Australia.

Reza Norouzzadeh, star of the Iranian team, was on the top scorer list of the indoor World Cup in South Africa with 16 goals. Norouzzadeh also scored 16 goals in the previous edition of the tournament and ranked third among top scorers.

Speaking about the problems of hockey in Iran, the president of the federation said: “The problem that the medalists and champions of hockey always face is that the Ministry of Sports and Youth does not give any awards to appreciate them. Considering that hockey will take part in the Asian Games and many prestigious international competitions, it should get more attention and support from the country’s sports officials.”

Ghadimi also referred to the low budget of his federation.

“Today, our players are competing against the top teams of the hockey world while they have few facilities. We do our best according to our planning but I hope that after the FIH 2023 World Cup, Iran national team and hockey sport will receive more support from the Ministry of Sports,” he added.