South Korea cruises past Uzbekistan on quest for eighth Asian Games handball gold

South Korea breezed past Uzbekistan 43-13 for its third straight victory in women's handball at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Wednesday, taking another step toward its eighth gold medal in the event.

Six players scored at least four goals for South Korea at Kasugai City Gymnasium in Kasugai, just northeast of the main host city of Nagoya, Japan. Jo Eun-been led the way with seven.

The women's handball tournament does not have a knockout round this year. Instead, all seven participants will play each other once, and the top three teams will take the medals after round-robin play.

South Korea's next match is against China on Friday, followed by Vietnam on Saturday. The gold medal could come down to the very last match of the event, between South Korea and Japan at 6 p.m. Sunday at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of Nagoya.

Women's handball was added to the Asian Games in 1990, and South Korea won the first five straight gold medals and six of the first seven. In the 2023 Asiad final, though, South Korea lost to Japan 29-19.

Yonhap