Japan won the Asian Men's Junior Handball Championship for the first time
Isa Town, 24 July 2022
Japan has won the 17th edition of the Asian Men’s Junior (U21) Handball Championship. Eight nations competed for the title and four places at the World Championship in an event held at the Sheikh Khalifa Sports City Hall in Isa Town, Bahrain, from 15 July to 24 July 2022.
The eight teams were divided into two groups of four teams each. Kuwait and Saudi Arabia from Group A and Bahrain and Japan from Group B advanced to the semi-finals. The Republic of Korea, Pakistan, the Islamic Republic of Iran, and India had to play in the 5th–8th placement matches after they failed to progress to the semi-finals.
The first semi-final saw Japan defeat Kuwait by 28–26. In the second semi-final, Bahrain defeated Saudi Arabia by 31–26.
In the bronze medal match, Kuwait defeated Saudi Arabia by 27–21. With this bronze medal, Kuwait ended their medal drought at the Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship as they won their first medal in 10 years. Prior to this, Kuwait won a bronze medal in Doha, Qatar in 2012.
In the gold medal match, Japan defeated Bahrain by 24–20. This is the first time that Japan has won the Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship. Japan had previously won a silver medal in 2018 and a bronze medal in 1992 and 2014.
Japan, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia have qualified for the 24th IHF Men’s Junior (U21) Handball World Championship to be held in Germany/Greece from 20th June to 2nd July 2023.
Final Rankings:
- Japan*
- Bahrain*
- Kuwait*
- Saudi Arabia*
- Republic of Korea
- Islamic Republic of Iran
- Pakistan
- India
(*) Qualifies for the 24th IHF Men’s Junior (U21) Handball World Championship to be held in Germany / Greece from 20th June to 2nd July 2023.
All the details about the championship can be found here.
