TEHRAN - Fatemeh Esmaeili, top scorer of the 2023 IIHF Ice Hockey Women’s Asia and Oceania Championship, said that lack of experience was the main reason for Iran’s defeat in the final against Thailand.

Team Melli finished runners-up, losing to defending champions Thailand 3-1 in the last match of the tournament.

Key to Thailand’s win in the final game was holding tournament scoring leader, Fatemeh Esmaeili, in check.

“The tournament had a great level, and the games were difficult,” said Esmaeili in his exclusive interview with Tehran Times.

“This was our first appearance at this level of international competition. But we did a great job and surprised all our opponents during the tournament,” she added.

Esmaeili led all players of the 2023 IIHF WAOC with a whopping 17 goals and 26 points in just five games. However, she was held pointless in the game for gold against the hosts.

“Thailand had more experience than our team. They had the hosting advantage over us and the atmosphere of the stadium was completely in their favor. We were really shocked at the beginning of the final match because we had never played in such an atmosphere in an international tournament.

“I’m sure that with the valuable experience we gained in the 2023 IIHF WAOC we will be a better team next year and in the future editions we can achieve the gold medal. I’m sure about that because I believe in the team's potential and the ability of the players,” Esmaeili stated.

All in all, our performance was impressive and important, but the tournament was, in the bigger picture, indicative of an ever-growing development of the Iran women’s game and the evident sense that this growth is only just beginning, iihf.com reported.