TEHRAN – Iran suffered their second loss in a row in the 21st edition of the Asian Men's Handball Championship, losing to Japan 25-23 on Thursday.

Team Melli had previously defeated New Zealand and China in the preliminary round but lost to South Korea 26-24.

Iran will play powerhouse Qatar in Group I on Friday.

The 2024 Asian Men's Handball Championship is the 21st edition of the championship scheduled to be held from 11 to 25 Jan. in Bahrain, under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation (AHF).

It’s the third time in history that the championship is organized by the Bahrain Handball Federation.

It also acts as a qualification tournament for the 2025 World Men's Handball Championship, with top four teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event.

If New Zealand finish inside the top five, they are qualified as well as the representative of Oceania.