South Korea's men's handball team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games [Yonhap]
South Korea's men's handball team at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games [Yonhap]

South Korea's men's handball team has returned to the Asian Games semifinals for the first time in eight years.

The team, coached by Director Jo Young-shin, defeated China 32-26 in the quarterfinals of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Kasugai Gymnasium in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Saturday.

The victory sends South Korea to the final four for the first time since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, where the team claimed a bronze medal.

After the two sides were level at 5-5 in the early stages of the first half, South Korea pulled ahead to 8-5 on a driving goal by Kim Jin-young of Sangmu, followed by back-to-back scores from Jeon Jin-su of Incheon Urban Corporation and Yeon Min-mo of Hanam City Hall.

South Korea led 16-12 at halftime and maintained the margin before breaking the game open with about five minutes left in the second half. From a 27-22 lead, Park Se-ung of SK Hawks converted two 6-meter shots and Kim Rak-chan of Incheon Urban Corporation added a 9-meter goal to push the score to 30-22, effectively sealing the semifinal berth.

Kim Rak-chan and Park Se-ung led the attack with six goals each, while Kim Jin-young and Lee Yo-sep of Incheon Urban Corporation each contributed five.

The semifinal will be held Monday at 5:30 p.m. at Inazawa Entrio in Aichi Prefecture. South Korea's opponent will be the winner of the Qatar-Iran match, with Qatar — the three-time consecutive champion through the 2022 Hangzhou Games — considered the likely opponent.


yuni@heraldcorp.com