The Korean men's handball team took its first step toward reclaiming the Asian championship after 16 years, since the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games.
Under the leadership of head coach Jo Young-shin, the team secured a 26-23 victory over Kuwait in their opening match of the Group B preliminary round at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held on September 21 in Inazawa, Japan. The match was tightly contested, with the score tied at 12-12 at halftime.
Having to defeat Kuwait to advance to the semifinals, Korea will face Iran in their next group match on September 22.
In a back-and-forth battle that lasted until the middle of the second half, Korea took the lead at 23-22 with a penalty shot from Kim Jin-young with about 4 minutes and 30 seconds remaining. Kim Rak-chan then extended the lead to 25-22 with consecutive goals.
Kim Jin-young sealed the victory with a penalty shot just 27 seconds before the final whistle, finishing the match with a team-high 6 goals.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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