The Asian Handball Federation successfully concluded the 1st AHF Asian Women’s U16 Handball Championship, which was held at the Dostyk Universal Sports Complex in Almaty, Kazakhstan, from 10 to 18 May 2026.
The historic inaugural edition of the championship also served as the Asian qualification event for the 1st IHF Women’s U16 Handball World Championship, scheduled to take place from 15 to 24 October 2026 at Agadir, Kingdom of Morocco. The top two teams of the competition, namely People’s Republic of China, and Uzbekistan, secured qualification for the global event.
A total of six teams participated in the championship, namely People’s Republic of China, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Hong Kong–China, and Kyrgyzstan. The teams competed in a single round-robin format followed by classification matches and medal encounters.
People’s Republic of China emerged as the dominant force throughout the tournament, finishing the preliminary round unbeaten with five victories and a goal difference of +121. Kazakhstan secured second position in the group standings with four wins, while Uzbekistan finished third with three victories.
The championship commenced on 10 May 2026 with Islamic Republic of Iran defeating Hong Kong–China 33–29, while People’s Republic of China registered a commanding 56–9 victory over Kyrgyzstan. On the same day, Kazakhstan edged Uzbekistan in a closely contested encounter by 41–35.
The following day saw Hong Kong–China defeat Kyrgyzstan 33–20, while People’s Republic of China continued their winning momentum with a 40–25 victory against Uzbekistan. Kazakhstan maintained their strong form after overcoming Islamic Republic of Iran 38–33.
As the tournament progressed, Uzbekistan bounced back impressively by defeating Islamic Republic of Iran 48–31, while P. R. China comfortably overcame Hong Kong–China 41–15. Kazakhstan produced another dominant display with a 51–17 victory over Kyrgyzstan.
Further matches witnessed People’s Republic of China defeating Islamic Republic of Iran 41–21, Uzbekistan overpowering Kyrgyzstan 65–13, and Kazakhstan securing a comprehensive 46–23 win over Hong Kong–China.
In the concluding matches of the preliminary round, Islamic Republic of Iran defeated Kyrgyzstan 44–16, Uzbekistan overcame Hong Kong–China 40–23, while People’s Republic of China confirmed their unbeaten run with a convincing 38–25 victory against host Kazakhstan.
The semi-finals, held on 17 May 2026, produced two exciting contests. Uzbekistan edged Kazakhstan 34–32 in a thrilling encounter to secure a place in the final, while People’s Republic of China dominated Islamic Republic of Iran 45–23 to advance to the championship match.
In the bronze medal match on 18 May 2026, Kazakhstan defeated Islamic Republic of Iran 42–35 to claim third place in front of the home crowd. The gold medal match witnessed another impressive performance from People’s Republic of China, who defeated Uzbekistan 42–25 to become the inaugural champions of the competition.
The final rankings of the championship saw People’s Republic of China crowned champions, followed by Uzbekistan in second place and Kazakhstan securing the bronze medal. Islamic Republic of Iran finished fourth, Hong Kong–China fifth, and Kyrgyzstan sixth.
The championship also recognized outstanding individual performances through the All-Star Team awards. Sun Ruixue of P. R. China was named Best Right Back, while Kazakhstan’s Nurdana Kyrgyzbay earned the Best Left Back award and also finished as the tournament’s top scorer with 78 goals. Du Meishan of P. R. China was selected as Best Centre Back, Perizat Kassym of Kazakhstan as Best Right Wing, Fazilat Imomova of Uzbekistan as Best Left Wing, and Aida Arab of I. R. Iran as Best Pivot. Uzbekistan’s Zilola Usmonova was named Best Goalkeeper, while P. R. China’s Song Yiran received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award.
To view the competition website with full match results and reports, click here.