Inazawa:Nagoya: South Korea was defeated by Qatar in the men's handball semifinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, ending their hopes for a gold medal.
According to Yonhap News Agency, the match took place at Entrio in Inazawa, northwest of Nagoya, Japan, where South Korea lost 32-30 to the defending champions, Qatar. This result extends South Korea's gold medal drought in men's handball, with their last gold victory dating back to the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games. Since then, they have secured silver in 2014 and bronze in 2018 but failed to make it to the podium in 2023.
In the semifinal match, South Korea initially took the lead by scoring first and establishing a 4-1 advantage by the seventh minute. Although Qatar narrowed the gap to 9-8, South Korea managed to extend their lead to 16-14 before halftime, despite the temporary suspension of Qatar's Rafael Capote.
The second half saw Qatar taking an early lead of 18-16. While South Korea managed to equalize, Qatar kept up the pressure and did not relinquish their lead, eventually widening the gap to four goals with three minutes left on the clock. Notably, Kim Jin-young scored seven goals for South Korea, with Kim Tae-gwan contributing five.
South Korea is set to compete against Japan in the bronze medal match on Tuesday.