Exactly 20 years after securing their maiden title at the AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship, Japan delivered yet another perfect performance, sweeping their opponents and stopping the Republic of Korea’s reign at the top of the Asian women’s handball, by clinching the continental trophy.

Eight teams lined up at the start of the 2024 AHF Asian Women's Handball Championship, organised for the first time in history in India, with the Indira Gandhi Arena in New Delhi hosting the top women’s sides in Asia, in a qualification event for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

The eight sides have been divided into two groups of four sides each, with the big favourites, the Republic of Korea and Japan, separated in the two groups. In Group A, the Republic of Korea, which won the competition in 16 of the previous 19 editions, were impossible to stop, securing the first place, with a 47:5 win over Singapore, a 30:20 win over Kazakhstan and a 25:14 win over the People’s Republic of China.

The big battle was for the second place, which virtually helped the side clinching it safe passage to the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship, and it was Kazakhstan which took the honour, after taking a 28:26 win over the People’s Republic of China in the first match, doubling down with a 38:7 win over Singapore in the last match of the group.

In Group B, Japan dominated their opponents and had the best attacking performance after the first three matches scoring 129 goals in their wins against the Islamic Republic of Iran (34:14), Hong Kong (47:6) and hosts India (48:15).

The second place went to the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a tough battle against India saw them take a 32:30 win and secure a semi-finals berth, as well as a spot for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

Japan and the Republic of Korea were unassailable in their semi-finals, setting up yet another final between the two Asian powerhouses, after clinching wins against Kazakhstan (30:23) and Iran (33:20) respectively.

The rivalry between Korea and Japan was well documented, as two years ago, Korea needed a comeback in the final of the 2022 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, clinching a 34:29 extra-time win to lift the title. Korea also clinched a one-goal win in the AHF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, therefore Japan had everything to play for here.

This time around, it was Japan which took the win, but it was not for Korea’s lack of trying. First, Japan failed to score for the last eight minutes and 13 seconds of the first half, enabling their opponents to use a 4:0 run to open a 12:9 lead at the break, which seemed to be a big advantange.

But Japan used three 3:0 unanswered runs in the second half, usually inspired by Kaho Nakayama, who finished the match with seven goals, and Yuki Yoshidome, who finished the match with five goals, to mount a comeback. Initially, Japan tied the score after only four minutes, with the two sides trading blows until the end.

Natsuki Aizawa scored Japan’s last two goals, which helped the Asian side seal their second continental title in history with a 25:24 win, a fantastic performance for a team which has seriously improved after the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, also managing to beat Denmark, on their home court, at the last IHF Women’s World Championship.

Kazakhstan secured their second bronze medal in history with a 28:22 win over the Islamic Republic of Iran, with all the four semi-finalists – Japan, the Republic of Korea, Kazakhstan and the Islamic Republic of Iran – punching their tickets for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship.

Credit photo: Yukihito Taguchi / JHA