By Han Sang-hee
Staff Reporter
Perhaps it was luck, while some may have said it was simply true capability, but either way the Kuwait handball team was no match for South Korea, which won the Asian Men's Championship final 27-21 Tuesday in Iran.
South Korea, led by coach Kim Tae-hoon, grasped victory, proving it could win in a fair competition after losing a match filled with officiating controversy in the teams' previous meeting.
``I'm so happy and excited I cannot seem to express it all,'' Kim was quoted during a phone interview with Yonhap after the match.
South Korea has won the men's championship seven times, including five consecutive years from 1983-1993.
It was indeed an emotional day for the South Korea team, after the road to victory took more effort and endurance than most teams.
Being one of the highest-ranking countries in handball, South Korea went through a tough year against Kuwait in 2007 with questionable judgments by referees at the qualification tournament for the Beijing Olympics. Asian Handball Federation (AHF) president Sheikh Ahmad Al Fahad Al Sabah, also head of the Kuwait handball federation, was accused of determining the results of the match before it started by allegedly switching the German referees to Jordanians.
After the South Korean team protested, the International Handball Federation (IHF) organized a replay, where Korea beat Japan. However, the AHF appealed the replay, so the results of the qualifier will be decided at a Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) hearing in mid-March.
Meanwhile, South Korea, Japan and China will meet to discuss the matter of holding separate handball qualifiers for the Olympics and Asian Championship. Concerned of future misjudgments, the three countries will look into the proposal in Beijing early next month.