(MENAFN- Gulf Times) The first game at a World Championship seems like the first day in college. The anticipation for a large scale event, larger than all you have seen before, is similar, as is the lack of experience and the level of challenges that lie ahead.
The 'freshmen', or the 'rookies', at the 24th Men's Handball World Championship in Qatar are Iran and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Last July's draw not only put them in the same group, but they would also face each other in their opening game, on their first day in 'college'.
The Bosnians emerged victorious (30:25) after a spectacular game, in which they had to overturn a four-goal deficit at halftime, but the 'unknown' Iranians proved that the potential is there and that they have nothing really to fear from their European counterparts and earned praise for the fighting spirit.
"We feel honoured to be here, for our first major tournament. We are very excited and pleased. I have watched so many World Championship matches back at home on TV in previous years and now we are finally a part of it," says Veszprem's 32-year-old left back Mirsad Terzic, Bosnia's most capped player.
Bosnia-Herzegovina were never rated among Europe's top teams, until last year when they managed to qualify for Qatar 2015, after they narrowly beat giants Iceland by a single goal at home, and held them to 29:29 draw in Reykjavik in a thrilling game.
"We tried hard for years and years to reach Europe's elite, but in vain. At some point we took the brave decision to start almost from scratch, to release the old guard from their duties and bring on new faces. It took us some time to strengthen the squad, but the risk eventually paid off and here we are," explains coach Drgan Markovic.
Iran had to go through fire and water in order to seal a place in Qatar 2015. On February 2, 2014, in Bahrain, they snatched a valuable 30:30 draw against the hosts in their last group game and outclassed Korea on goal difference to reach the 'golden' semi-finals.
"That ticket was the peak for a team full of talent which was first introduced to the handball world at the 2007 World Youth Championship in Bahrain," says Iranian goalie Saeid Barkhodari.
"We played really well in the first half in our debut at World Championships. Although it's not easy, we will try hard to overcome the huge differences that separate us between the Europeans and earn our opponents' respect."
Iran's Slovenian coach Borut Macek states that his players need to stay focused and alert for the whole sixty minutes in every game. "Only in that way we will be able to stand firm against our more experienced opponents in a very challenging tournament."
In their follow up matches on 17 January, Iran lost a tight battle to FYRO Macedonia 33:31, while Bosnia € Herzegovina were edged by Austria 23:21.
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