Korean handball team wins 9th title

By Cho Mu-hyun

Korea won their ninth title at the Asian Men’s Handball Championships on Monday (KST) in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

The team defeated Qatar 23-22 in the final of the 15th championships thanks to seven goals by right back Yoon Kyung-shin’s and five from Lee Jae-woo's.

This marked a third consecutive win for Korea in the tournament, not only seeing them as the reigning team in Asia but also earned a spot at next year’s World Championships to be held in Spain.

Korea is now 9-2 against Qatar and the result was payback for a 40-28 loss in the 2006 Doha Asian Games.

Yoon was named the tournament’s Most Valuable Player for his performances.

“I want to thank the players. We won all four matches prior to the final by one point which we won because the players did not lose focus till the end,” said coach Choi Suk-jae.

“Baek Won-chul will join the team for the London Olympics so we will gain more stability. We will focus on the Olympics (afterwards) and work hard to bring the best results,” he added.

Saudi Arabia also earned one of the three berths for the World Championships along with Korea and Quarter by defeating Japan in the third place playoff.