The 19th AHF Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship concluded successfully in Chuzhou, People’s Republic of China, after thirteen days of high-level competition from 15 to 27 July 2026. Organized by the Chinese Handball Association (CHA), the championship marked the second time that China hosted the prestigious continental event and served as the official qualification tournament for the 26th IHF Men’s Junior (U21) Handball World Championship, with the top four teams earning qualification for the global event to be held in North Macedonia from 23 June to 4 July 2027.
A total of 13 teams—Bahrain, Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong-China, India, I. R. Iran, Japan, Kuwait, Oman, P. R. China, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates—competed for continental honours. The draw ceremony for the championship had earlier been conducted on 13 May 2026 in Almaty, Kazakhstan in the presence of AHF President Bader Mohammed Al-Theyab and representatives of the participating Member Federations.
The preliminary round produced several exciting contests. In Group A, Saudi Arabia emerged unbeaten with five consecutive victories, defeating Oman (40–27), Bahrain (30–26), Chinese Taipei (46–29), People’s Republic of China (35–30) and Hong Kong-China (46–11) to finish at the top of the standings. Bahrain secured second place after victories over Chinese Taipei (39–27), Hong Kong-China (43–15), Oman (33–23) and China (35–27). People’s Republic of China finished third after defeating Hong Kong-China (28–12), Chinese Taipei (36–29) and Oman (31–26), while Chinese Taipei claimed fourth position.
Group B witnessed an intense battle among the leading Asian teams. The Republic of Korea finished unbeaten with five wins and one draw, edging Qatar (28–27), Iran (29–28), India (49–19), Kuwait (34–28) and Japan (28–26) before drawing 30–30 against the United Arab Emirates. The UAE also remained unbeaten in regulation time, registering victories over Japan (32–29), Qatar (29–24), India (52–21) and Kuwait (29–28), while drawing with Iran (25–25) and Korea (30–30). Iran, Kuwait, Qatar, Japan and India completed the group standings after a series of closely contested encounters.
The knockout stage delivered several thrilling matches. Bahrain advanced to the semi-finals with a convincing 31–24 victory over Iran, while the United Arab Emirates defeated People’s Republic of China 37–28. Saudi Arabia overcame Kuwait 25–23 in a closely fought contest, and the Republic of Korea defeated Chinese Taipei 30–26 to complete the semi-final lineup.
In the placement matches, Qatar defeated Oman 45–24 to secure ninth place, while Japan overcame Hong Kong-China 40–16 to finish eleventh. Kuwait defeated People’s Republic of China 36–31 before edging Chinese Taipei 30–29 to secure fifth place. Iran finished seventh after defeating People’s Republic of China 38–31, while Chinese Taipei claimed sixth position.
Both semi-finals were decided by the narrowest of margins. The Republic of Korea edged Bahrain 32–31 in a dramatic encounter, while the United Arab Emirates produced another thrilling victory by defeating Saudi Arabia 31–30 to book their place in the championship final.
Saudi Arabia bounced back strongly in the bronze medal match, defeating Bahrain 37–27 to claim third place and secure qualification for the World Championship. The gold medal match lived up to expectations as the Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates battled throughout a tense contest. Korea eventually emerged victorious with a 25–24 win to lift the continental title after an outstanding campaign, while the United Arab Emirates finished with a historic silver medal.
The final standings saw the Republic of Korea crowned champions, followed by the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Bahrain. These four teams qualified for the 26th IHF Men’s Junior (U21) Handball World Championship 2027. Kuwait finished fifth, followed by Chinese Taipei, Iran, People’s Republic of China, Qatar, Oman, Japan, Hong Kong-China and India.
At the closing ceremony, the championship’s outstanding performers were recognized through the All-Star Team awards. Kim Eun-ho (Republic of Korea) was named Best Right Back, Abdullah Nabil Al-Marhoon (Saudi Arabia) Best Left Back, Choi Yeon-gu (Republic of Korea) Best Centre Back, Omar Zaid (United Arab Emirates) Best Right Wing, Ahmed Eid (Bahrain) Best Left Wing, Ahmed Nofal (United Arab Emirates) Best Pivot, and Salman Adel Al-Muyini (Saudi Arabia) Best Goalkeeper. Eyad Toukhy (United Arab Emirates) received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award, while Yosef Madwah (Kuwait) finished as the championship’s Top Scorer with 68 goals.
The Asian Handball Federation congratulates the Republic of Korea on winning the 19th AHF Asian Men’s Junior Handball Championship and extends its appreciation to the Chinese Handball Association, officials, volunteers, participating teams, referees and supporters for contributing to another successful edition of Asia’s premier junior men’s handball competition.