TEHRAN - Hakan Demir commends the Iran basketball national team for their performance in the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers window 1.

Iran's national basketball team, led by Demir, secured a significant victory against India in the second game of the FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers' first window.

Speaking about the win, Demir expressed his appreciation for his team's efforts despite the challenging journey to Delhi.

“I must congratulate my team as we had a tough journey to Delhi. The trip from Tehran to Delhi was very long, and our team’s members were fatigued. However, we managed to deliver a strong performance in both offense and defense and achieved a good win,” he remarked.

Iran concluded their FIBA Asia Cup 2025 Qualifiers Window 1 campaign with an undefeated record, dominating India 86-53 at the K.D. Jadhav Indoor Hall. Previously, Hakan Demir's side had secured a narrow 76-74 victory against Qatar on Feb. 23 in Tehran.

The Turkish coach of Iran basketball national team praised India's impressive performance on the court, acknowledging their strong gameplay.

Reflecting on the difference between the game against India and Qatar, Demir commented: “In my opinion, we witnessed a good team from India with a competent coaching staff. Certainly, we will see India's team improve in the future, but it's not fair to compare our game against Qatar with the Indian national team.”

“I believe that the Qatar national team couldn't be considered a true national team due to the presence of players from Bosnia, Egypt, America, and Senegal,” he added.

Regarding the main reason for Iran's decisive victory against the Indian national team, Demir highlighted: “We had a good performance in both offensive and defensive rebounds, which led to our victory. While India also performed well, we excelled in rebounds.”

Iran will host Kazakhstan in the second window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup Qualifiers on Nov. 22, and then play an away game against Qatar three days later.