South Korea’s men’s handball team put up a fierce fight against ‘Asia’s strongest’ Qatar but failed to overcome the final hurdle. The 16-year wait for an Asian Games gold medal has ended, and now they will challenge for a medal against Japan after an 8-year gap.
South Korea, led by Coach Jo Young-shin, lost 30-32 to Qatar in the men’s handball semifinal of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games held at the Entrio in Inazawa, Aichi Prefecture, Japan on the 28th. Qatar is Asia’s strongest team, having achieved three consecutive tournament victories from Incheon 2014 to Hangzhou 2022.
South Korea did not back down easily. They took an early lead with goals from Kim Tae-gwan and Park Se-woong, leading 4-1. They maintained the lead with goalkeeper Park Jae-yong’s saves. The first half ended 16-16. In the second half, South Korea kept the game close with Qatar, creating eight ties with a one-goal difference.
South Korea did not back down easily. They took an early lead with goals from Kim Tae-gwan and Park Se-woong, leading 4-1. They maintained the lead with goalkeeper Park Jae-yong’s saves. The first half ended 16-16. In the second half, South Korea kept the game close with Qatar, creating eight ties with a one-goal difference.
The game was decided in the final moments. With Lee Yo-seop’s goal at the 24th minute of the second half, the score became 28-28, but they failed to score for the next five minutes. During that time, Qatar scored four consecutive goals to pull ahead 28-32. Yeon Min-mo scored back-to-back goals just before the final whistle, but there was not enough time to catch up. Kim Jin-young scored a team-high seven goals, Kim Tae-gwan added five, and Park Jae-yong blocked 12 shots.
After the match, Coach Jo showed tears. He said, “In a one-goal battle, the physical strength and power of the opponent led to significant physical exhaustion,” adding, “Although we lost, the players did not spare their bodies. I am proud of today’s performance by the players.”
South Korea will face Japan in the bronze medal match at the same venue on the 29th at 5 p.m. Japan lost to Bahrain 31-35 in the semifinal. The host nation Japan is the final opponent in the quest for a medal after an 8-year gap since the 2018 Jakarta Palembang Games. Coach Jo stated, “As it is a Korea-Japan match, we cannot give up under any circumstances,” adding, “We will fight a battle where there is no room to retreat.”
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