Beat Japan 27-23 in final pool match to finish undefeated in 6 games

Goalkeeper Park Sae-young makes 12 saves with 41% block rate

First Asian Games title since 2018, eighth overall

South Korean players toss head coach Lee Gye-cheong into the air in celebration after defeating Japan to clinch the gold medal in the women's handball pool-stage final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Inazawa Entrio in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]
South Korean players toss head coach Lee Gye-cheong into the air in celebration after defeating Japan to clinch the gold medal in the women's handball pool-stage final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Inazawa Entrio in Aichi Prefecture, Japan, on Sunday. [Yonhap]

South Korea's women's handball team defeated host nation Japan on Japanese soil Sunday, reclaiming the Asian Games title for the first time in eight years and avenging a 10-goal defeat in the previous edition's final.

Led by Head Coach Lee Gye-cheong, South Korea beat Japan 27-23 in the women's handball pool-stage final at the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, held at Inazawa Entrio in Aichi Prefecture.

The victory completed a perfect six-win run, securing the gold medal — South Korea's first Asian Games handball title since the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games and the program's eighth overall.

Above all, the win erased the pain of the previous tournament. South Korea had suffered a crushing 19-29 defeat to Japan in the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games final, surrendering the gold. This time, the team exacted revenge on Japanese soil.

Goalkeeper Park Sae-young of Samcheok City Hall was at the heart of the victory, stopping 12 Japanese shots to post a 41 percent block rate.

"I was in tears when we lost the gold three years ago, so today feels incredibly satisfying," Park said after the match. "The Asian Women's Handball Championship and the Los Angeles Olympics are still ahead, and I want to keep showing everyone that we can win there too."

She credited the defense rather than her own performance. "We did so much defensive work in training, and it really showed today — that's what allowed me to make those saves," she said.

Team captain Kwon Han-na, 36, of the Busan Facilities Corporation said the win meant most as payback for the previous defeat.

"I can't even find the words for how good I feel," Kwon said. "It's like we've washed away the wounds from last time. We were more united than ever, and I think our desire to win was stronger than Japan's."

She added that she was proud the team had shown the sport was still very much alive. "Women's handball had been in a bit of a slump recently, but I think we've proven once again that we're not dead, we haven't fallen, we haven't crumbled — and that makes me incredibly proud," she said.

Ryu Eun-hee of the Busan Facilities Corporation, the team's most senior player, pointed to the blend of experience and youth as the key to the title. "This time we came in with real determination and the players prepared thoroughly — we communicated with each other constantly," she said. "The younger players brought their own energy to the team, and everything came together really well."

Defense also proved decisive. To counter Japan's fast counterattacks, the team focused on getting every player back on defense the instant possession was lost.

"The coach's instruction to get everyone back into the backcourt without exception the moment a turnover whistle blew — to stop Japan's fast breaks — really paid off today," Ryu said.

South Korea has now won eight of the 10 Asian Games tournaments held since women's handball became an official event, maintaining its standing as the continent's most decorated nation in the sport.

The team's next major international stage will be the Asian Women's Handball Championship, running from Nov. 23 to Dec. 2, with a berth at the 2027 World Women's Handball Championship also on the line.


kwater@heraldcorp.com