Aichi-Nagoya - Qatar’s men’s handball team qualified for the final of the 20th Asian Games Aichi-Nagoya 2026 after defeating South Korea 32-30 in yesterday’s semi-final.

Qatar will face Bahrain in today’s final after Bahrain defeated Japan 35-31 in the other semi-final. Team Qatar will be looking to retain the gold medal they have won at each of the previous three editions of the Asian Games.

The semi-final was a closely contested and exciting encounter. South Korea made the stronger start and took a 2-0 lead before Qatar responded and reduced the deficit to one goal at 5-4. The match remained evenly balanced, with both sides exchanging goals.

South Korea restored their three-goal advantage at 9-6 and remained ahead until the 20th minute, when the score stood at 11-9. They continued to lead 14-12 in the 25th minute before Qatar fought back to level at 14-14, with the first half eventually ending 16-16.

Team Qatar started the second half strongly and moved 18-16 ahead, before South Korea responded to level the score at 18-18. Korea then regained the lead at 20-19, but Qatar quickly equalized at 20-20 before moving 21-20 ahead.

The intensity continued, with the teams locked at 26-26 as the match entered its final 10 minutes. Qatar then imposed their advantage in the closing stages, taking a 30-28 lead in the 25th minute before extending the margin to 32-28. Despite South Korea’s late attempt to reduce the deficit, Qatar held firm to secure a 32-30 victory.