WANA (Jun 06) – Iran’s U20 women’s national ice hockey team finished as runners-up in the 2025 Women’s Asia Cup held in the UAE.

 

The Iranian squad — featuring Sharmin Tabatabaei, Zahra Mirakhorlou, Ava Safari, Melika Mahabadi, Maliheh Alibeykloo, Farimah Khani, Romina Hedavand Khani, Romina Esmaeili, Shaghayegh Sedighi Sadr, Asal Sadeghian, Setayesh Anbari, Sara Eslami, Paniz Kabiri, Sara Khoylou, Maryam Pour Eskandar, Parmis Dowlat Abadi, Aida Yazdanian, Yasina Karimzadeh, Dorsa Shabani, and Parinaz Malekpour — was coached by Elham Modir Dehghan and Negar Khoram.

 

In the tournament held in Al Ain, the Iranian team defeated the UAE, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysians 99, and India before falling to the Philippines in the final match, securing second place.

 

Remarkably, Iran’s U20 team was the only youth team competing against adult national teams in this tournament. Their performance earned praise from other participants and observers alike.

 

It’s worth noting that the Iranian youth team is also set to compete in the World Cup later this year, and their participation in the Asia Cup was part of their preparation for a strong showing on the global stage.

The girls of “Farmaniyeh” ice hockey team are seen in an ice hockey sports club in Tehran, Iran February 2, 2021. Picture taken February 2, 2021. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency)