TEHRAN – Former president of the Iran Basketball Federation Mahmoud Mashhoun passed away on Sunday.

He was 82.

Mashhoun served as President of the Iranian Basketball Federation (IRIBF) from 2002 to 2017, during which time the Iran men's national team rose to prominence in Asia. This includes winning FIBA Asia Cups in 2007, 2009, and 2013, making their first appearance at the FIBA Basketball World Cup in 2010, which they have yet to miss since, and returning to the Olympic Games for the first time in 60 years in 2008. 

The group of players that emerged during that era under Mashhoun’s presidency is widely considered the “Golden Generation” of Iranian basketball, including the likes of Asian basketball legends like Hamed Haddadi, Samad Nikkhah Bahrami, Mehdi Kamrani, and Oshin Sahakian, among others, fiba.basketball reported.

Tehran Times extends its deepest sympathy to Mashhoun’s family, loved ones, and friends over his demise.