South Korea falls to Qatar, will face Japan for men's handball bronze

South Korea lost to defending champion Qatar in the men's handball semifinals at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Monday.

In the semifinals at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of Nagoya, Japan, South Korea fell to Qatar 32-30.

South Korea's gold medal drought continued in men's handball, as its last gold medal came at the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games, when it beat Iran 32-28 in the final.

It won silver in 2014 and bronze in 2018, while failing to reach the podium in 2023.

South Korea will take on Japan in the bronze medal match on Tuesday.

South Korea scored first, opening a 4-1 lead in the seventh minute.

Qatar narrowed the gap to 9-8 and tried to level the score, but South Korea scored again after a save by goalkeeper Park Jae-yong.

With the score tied at 14-14 and three minutes remaining in the first half, South Korea scored two straight goals to take a 16-14 lead while Qatar's Rafael Capote was serving a two-minute suspension.

With all seven players back on the court, Qatar fought back to level the score at 16-16 before the break.

In the second half, Qatar took an early 18-16 lead, but South Korea soon scored two goals to tie the game again. The two teams remained close while Qatar's Youssef Ali was serving a two-minute suspension.

However, Qatar did not allow South Korea to take the lead for the rest of the second half and extended its advantage to four goals with three minutes remaining.

Kim Jin-young scored seven goals, while Kim Tae-gwan added five.

Yonhap