Making its tournament debut, the Philippines came within a whisker of pulling off one of the biggest upsets in the competition’s history against the defending champion, who won every one of its 10 matches en-route to claiming the title in both previous editions in 2015 and 2018.
In the end, Iran found a way through in the dying stages as Maral Torkaman broke Philippines’ hearts to take all three points in the Group B encounter at the Hohhot Sports Centre.
Team Melli Banovan will meet Hong Kong and Vietnam on Friday and Sunday, respectively.