The 18th AHF Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship is set to take place from 20 to 29 August in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. This year’s edition will feature 10 participating teams and marks the first time that Uzbekistan hosts a continental event in this age category.

As a qualification tournament for the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, the competition will award places to the top four teams, who will secure their participation at the upcoming global event.

The Republic of Korea has been the dominant force in the history of the championship, winning 16 of the 17 previous editions. The only exception came in 2022, when India claimed the title in a tournament where Korea, the People’s Republic of China, and Japan — traditionally the most successful nations in the competition — were absent due to Covid-19–related restrictions.

For the second consecutive edition, and only the second time in the history of the championship, 10 teams will take part. They have been divided into two groups of five teams each, with the top two in each group advancing to the semi-finals.

In Group A, hosts Uzbekistan will face the Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, India and the runners-up of the previous edition of the competition, the People’s Republic of China.

Group B seems to be more balanced, with the title holders, the Republic of Korea, facing Japan, Kazakhstan, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Kyrgyzstan.

In the previous major international competition where this generation of players has featured, Japan finished eighth at the 2024 IHF Women's Youth World Championship, China ended up 15th and the Republic of Korea finished 19th.

The preliminary round will be played in Tashkent between 20 and 25 August, with the semi-finals seeing the winner of Group A face the runners-up in Group B and the winners in Group B face the runners-up in Group A on 27 August.

The bronze medal match and the final of the 18th AHF Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship are scheduled for 29 August.

The top four teams in the competition will secure their tickets to the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship.