IHF Men’s Tokyo 2020 OQT places – update

17 Jan. 2020

IHF Men’s Tokyo 2020 OQT places – update

With the commencement of the CAHB Men’s African Championship in Tunisia yesterday (16-26 January), following the start of the 2020 Men’s EHF European Championship in Austria, Sweden and Norway last week (10-26 January), we are closer to knowing the last four teams who will participate in the IHF Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments (OQT).

The winners in Tunisia will go directly through to the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, while the second and third-ranked teams will move into OQT 2 and OQT 3 respectively.

The winners of the Men’s EHF European Championship will also directly qualify through to Tokyo 2020, while the second and third-ranked teams will move into OQT 3 and OQT 2 respectively.

IHF Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Men’s OQTs – Scenarios: European and African championships

If the winner of the 2020 Men’s EHF EURO comes from Norway, Germany, Sweden, Croatia or Spain, who finished in places 2-7 at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship, then the composition of the OQT groups change with rows 1 and 2 of the OQT groups taking the final ranking of the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship into consideration. 

In this case, Egypt will qualify through to OQT 1 in Row 2, as they finished in eighth place at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship.

However, if Egypt win the current CAHB Men’s African Championship and Norway, Germany, Sweden, Croatia or Spain win the current Men’s EHF European Championship, then Brazil will qualify through to OQT 1 in position two after they finished in ninth place at the 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship.

Rows 3 and 4 in the OQT tables are for rankings from continental events only.

IHF Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games Men’s OQTs – Competition Information

In accordance with the IHF Regulations for Competitions, there are three OQTs with four teams each for each gender. The first and second-ranked teams from each of these round-robin tournaments will qualify directly to Tokyo 2020.

The three OQTs will take place from 17-19 April 2020 and are set to be hosted by Norway, France and Germany, following an IHF Council ballot back in October 2019. If Norway or Germany win the EHF EURO, Croatia will host as a substitute nation based on that same ballot.

All OQTs to be held from 17-19 April 2020

Olympic Qualification Tournament 1 - Norway
Row 1: Norway (NOR)
Row 2: Spain (ESP)
Row 3: Chile (CHI)
Row 4: Republic of Korea (KOR)

Olympic Qualification Tournament 2 - France
Row 1: France (FRA)
Row 2: Croatia (CRO)
Row 3: 2nd Place at the CAHB Men’s African Championship
Row 4: 3rd Place at the 2020 Men’s EHF European Championship

Olympic Qualification Tournament 3 - Germany
Row 1: Germany (GER)
Row 2: Sweden (SWE)
Row 3: 2nd Place at the 2020 Men’s EHF European Championship
Row 4: 3rd Place at the CAHB Men’s African Championship

Directly-Qualified Teams for Tokyo 2020 – Men’s Handball

Host nation Japan, alongside 2019 World Championship winners Denmark, 2019 Pan American Games champions Argentina, and winners of the 2019 AHF Men’s Asian Qualification Tournament for Tokyo 2020, Bahrain, have already booked their spot at Tokyo 2020.

They will be joined by the winners of the 2020 Men’s EHF EURO (10-26 January) and the winners of the 2020 CAHB Men’s African Championship (16-26 January).

The remaining six of 12 places will be filled by the top two teams in each OQT.

1. Japan (Hosts)
2. Denmark (Winners – 2019 IHF Men’s World Championship)
3. Argentina (Winners – 2019 Pan American Games)
4. Bahrain (Winners – 2019 AHF Men’s Asian Qualification Tournament for Tokyo 2020)
5. Winners – 2020 Men’s EHF EURO
6. Winners – 2020 CAHB Men’s African Championship
7. Winners – OQT 1
8. Runners-Up – OQT 1
9. Winners – OQT 2
10. Runners-Up – OQT 2
11. Winners – OQT 3
12. Runners-Up – OQT 3

2019 IHF Men’s World Championship – Final Ranking
1 - Denmark 
2 - Norway
3 - France
4 - Germany
5 - Sweden
6 - Croatia
7 - Spain
8 - Egypt
9 - Brazil
10 - Hungary
11 - Iceland
12 - Tunisia
13 - Qatar
14 - Russia
15 - North Macedonia
16 - Chile
17 - Argentina
18 - Serbia
19 - Austria
20 - Bahrain
21 - Saudi Arabia
22 - Korea
23 - Angola
24 - Japan

For more information on the Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournaments, click HERE and check out chapter 5 (pg 81 of the PDF) of the Regulations for IHF Competitions.

For further information on the women’s OQTs visit HERE for an overview and HERE for the recent news regarding Kazakhstan replacing the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.