Mashhoon Resigns and Iran's Surprising Defeat Against Iraq

The Iranian national basketball team lost to Iraq 74 to 66 in their first game of the 2019 World Cup qualifiers. This unexpected result came just hours after Mahmoud Mashhoon, the president of the Iranian Basketball Federation, resigned from his position. Mashhoon, who had faced extensive criticism and had a tumultuous few months at the federation, resigned due to a prohibition by the General Inspection Organization of Iran against the activities of retirees. He had been at the helm of Iranian basketball for over fifteen years, albeit intermittently. Mashhoon had previously emphasized, 'According to the assembly's vote, my presidency will continue until June 2019. Until then, I will definitely stay and do my job.' However, the most significant news in Iranian basketball was not Mashhoon's predictable resignation but the national team's failure against Iraq, which stunned fans of the sport. The 2019 World Cup will be hosted in China. ISNA reported that the Iranian players had been suffering from poisoning and illness before the match against Iraq. Nevertheless, Iran ended the first quarter in their favor. In the second quarter, Iraq dominated, and the absence of Hamed Haddadi, the captain of the Iranian national team, was glaringly evident. Iran performed very poorly in the final quarter, scoring only 12 points, and shockingly watched Iraq take the lead. This game was held in Jordan. Farid Aslani was the highest scorer for Iran, while Oshin Sahakian had the best performance among his teammates. Iran's second match in the World Cup qualifiers will be held in Tehran against Qatar, who lost their first game against Kazakhstan. Thus, Mashhoon's last day in management was marked by a defeat that can be considered a historic failure. During Mashhoon's presidency, Iran qualified for the Olympics, participated in two World Cups, and achieved its first senior Asia championship and youth Asia championship, but the last two years saw a complete change in circumstances. The 76-year-old Mashhoon was under severe pressure due to a reckless and error-prone contract with the German head coach of the national team. The unilateral termination of the contract by Dirk Bauermann also harmed the national team. The Ministry of Sports has yet to appoint an interim head for the Basketball Federation.