TEHRAN - Head coach of the Iranian women's junior handball team, Mahsa Motamedi, reflects on the national team's qualification for the 2022 Women's Junior World Handball Championship.

On Monday, Iran booked their place at the Championship by finishing in the runner-up position in the 2022 Women's Junior World Handball Championship.

“It was a high-level and competitive tournament. Comparing the previous editions, which we had analyzed them, all the teams had made significant progress,” said Motamedi in her exclusive interview with Tehran Times.

Iran lost to Kazakhstan 30-24 in their opening match but defeated India (42-37), Thailand (28-21), and Uzbekistan (25-21) in their next games.

“India are one of the teams that have made a lot of progress over the last two or three years. They have invested a lot in handball. Other countries had the same situation,” she said.

“Iran have never beaten Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in handball in any age category – junior and senior – and was a great success for us to beat Uzbekistan,” the national team coach added.

When asked about the reasons for the defeat in the first game against Kazakhstan, Motamedi said: “If we had not played Kazakhstan in the first game, we would have defeated them. The main reason for our defeat, in my opinion, was the lack of international experience of most of our players. But for the next games, this problem solved. Even in the second half of the game against Kazakhstan, the players did a great job, but we could not bounce back,” Motamedi added.

About the preparation for the 2022 World Handball Championship in Slovenia, Motamedi explained: “first of all, I thank the handball federation, and especially the president Mr. Pakdel, for helping the team participate in competition despite all the difficulties. It was the first time in eight years that the Iranian team were sent to the junior competition, and I am glad that we gained the federation's trust.

“Secondly, we need precise and accurate planning to participate in the world championship because we have an arduous task ahead of us in the competition," Motamedi concluded.