Nagoya:  Qatar’s men’s handball team recorded a comfortable 40–17 victory over Hong Kong yesterday in their opening match at the 20th Asian Games Aichi–Nagoya 2026.

The victory earned Qatar their first two points in Group A, which also includes Japan and China.

Qatar imposed their style on the match despite making a below-par start to the first half. Some early haste and errors allowed Hong Kong to remain competitive and exchange goals with Qatar, with the score level at 3–3.

As the match progressed, Qatar regained their composure, corrected their mistakes and gradually took control. An improved defensive performance and greater efficiency in attack helped them establish a 6–3 lead before they continued to dominate and ended the first half 19–8 ahead.

Qatar maintained their superiority throughout the second half and completed a commanding 40–17 victory. After leading by 11 goals at the interval, they extended their advantage and eventually won by a margin of 23 goals.

Qatar will face China in their second match today as they seek a second successive victory before concluding their group-stage campaign against Japan on Friday.

Qatar are aiming to retain the gold medal they won at the previous three editions of the Asian Games: Incheon 2014, Jakarta 2018 and Hangzhou 2022.