The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) is pleased to announce that the 20th AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship will be hosted by Handball Association India in New Delhi, India. The championship is scheduled to take place from 1 to 12 December 2024.
Initially planned to be held in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the championship has been relocated to New Delhi due to unforeseen circumstances. This championship will not only crown Asia’s top women’s handball team but will also serve as a qualifying event for the 27th IHF Women’s Handball World Championship, to be held in Germany and the Netherlands in December 2025. The top four teams from the Asian Championship will earn direct qualification for the World Championship.
Draw rescheduled and venue confirmed
The championship draw, originally planned to take place in Almaty on 22 September 2024, has been rescheduled and will now take place on 18 October 2024 at The Leela Ambience Convention Hotel, King Surajmal Road, Delhi, at 16:00 hours. The official draw will determine the groupings for the competition.
The draw pots are as follows:
POT 1: India, Republic of Korea
POT 2: Japan, People’s Republic of China
POT 3: Islamic Republic of Iran, Kazakhstan
POT 4: Uzbekistan, Hong Kong (China)
POT 5: Singapore
Historical Significance
The Republic of Korea, reigning champions and the most successful team in the history of the championship, will enter the tournament aiming to extend their record, having won the title sixteen times in the past. Only Kazakhstan (champions in 2002 and 2010) and Japan (champions in 2004) have also won the competition.
Both Japan and Republic of Korea have participated in all nineteen previous editions of the championship, while P.R. China has featured in eighteen editions, missing only the 2021 event due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Republic of Korea has medaled in every edition since the championship’s inception in 1987, securing a total of sixteen gold, two silver, and one bronze medals. Additionally, P.R. China and Japan have won seventeen and sixteen medals, respectively, throughout the tournament’s history.
