Aichi-Nagoya - Qatar’s national handball team qualified for the semi-finals of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games after defeating Iran 31–25 in yesterday’s quarter-final.

Team Qatar will face South Korea in the semi-finals after the Koreans advanced at the expense of China. The match was attended by H.E. Jassim bin Rashid Al Buenain, Secretary General of the Qatar Olympic Committee, and Sheikh Khalifa bin Khalid Al Thani, Director of the Sports Sector at the Qatar Olympic Committee.

The encounter against Iran was far from easy for Qatar, particularly in the first half, which ended with Iran leading 14–13. Team Qatar, however, overturned the deficit in the second half to secure victory.

The opening stages were evenly contested before Iran established the first two-goal advantage in the 13th minute, taking a 6–4 lead after Qatar missed several attacking opportunities. Team Qatar regained their composure and reduced the deficit to one at 7–6, but Iran responded by extending their advantage to 9–6.

In the closing stages of the first half, Qatar produced a strong response, reducing the gap to 13–11 before applying further pressure in the final moments to go into the break trailing by just one goal at 14–13.

Team Qatar equalized at 14–14 early in the second half, and the closely contested battle continued, with neither side able to establish a clear advantage as the score reached 23–23 midway through the half. By the 20th minute, Qatar took a two-goal lead for the first time in the match at 26–24 before extending the advantage to 27–24.

Iran attempted to reduce the deficit and get back into the match during the final five minutes, but Team Qatar maintained their concentration and extended the lead to six goals, sealing a 31–25 victory and a place in the semi-finals.

Adel Al Anzi, Board Member of the Qatar Handball Association and Head of Qatar’s handball delegation at the Games, described the match against Iran as difficult, saying the team did not make the best of starts before the players used their experience to work their way back into the contest, secure the victory and qualify for the semi-finals.

Al Anzi added that the upcoming match against South Korea would not be easy, stressing that every round becomes more difficult than the previous one. At the same time, he expressed great confidence in the players and their ability to continue producing performances worthy of the national team and achieve the desired results.

Commenting on Qatar’s bid to retain the gold medal, he said: “The task is difficult, but we will give everything we have to continue our campaign and achieve our goal. We hope to be successful in winning the gold medal for the fourth consecutive edition and achieving another milestone for Qatari handball.”