Last October, 11 Asian teams lined up in Doha, Qatar for the Paris 2024 AHF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament, with Japan defying all odds and securing a huge win, their maiden qualification at the Olympic Games via this path, by clinching six wins in six matches.

First, they delivered a pitch perfect performance in the preliminary round, winning against the Islamic Republic of Iran (25:20), Bahrain (27:26), Kuwait (32:30) and Kazakhstan (44:19), in close succession, with the matches against Bahrain and Kuwait being clearly close.

Then, in the semi-finals, Japan enjoyed a clear 34:23 win against the Republic of Korea, setting up a rematch against Bahrain in the final, in a winner-takes-all situation. Japan delivered a fantastic performance, dominating from start to finish, to take a 32:29 win and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games spot reserved for the Asian teams, with a 10-goal outing from back Kosuke Yasuhira.

But Japan received a serious blow in February, when Dagur Sigurðsson, the coach who led the Asian team from 2017 and also managed to finish 11th at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, left by mutual consent, choosing to join the Croatia men’s senior national team, leaving Japan with a tough search on their hands.

The Asian side moved quickly and managed to convince Spanish coach Antonio Carlos Ortega to lead the team at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Ortega, one of the most experienced coaches in men’s handball, is coming after a successful campaign with FC Barcelona in the EHF Champions League Men, where he won the trophy with the Spanish powerhouse.

Ortega is no stranger to Japan, having previously coached the Asian side between 2016 and 2017, preceding Sigurðsson’s stint for the Asian side. But the Spanish coach has never led a national team outside of that one-year stint for Japan, which might create an issue or two, especially as the teams will play five matches in only 10 days at Paris 2024.

Nevertheless, Japan will be trying their best in their sixth appearance at the Olympic Games and their second consecutive one after Tokyo 2020. The Asian side has never finished higher than the ninth place at Montreal 1976, with their last two appearances in the competition seeing Japan finishing on the 11th place.

Before the start of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where Japan will face five European sides – Spain, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia and Sweden – the Asian side faced the Faroe Islands twice in the first days of July, splitting wins. The first match, played in Tokyo, on 1 July, saw the Faroe Islands clinch a 30:29 win, while Japan secured the win, 31:25, in the second match, played on 3 July, in the Yoyogi National Stadium, the venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

Japan

Coach: Antonio Carlos Ortega

Key players: Kosuke Yasuhira (centre back), Hiroki Motoki (right wing), Jin Watanabe (right back), Shuichi Yoshida (line player)

Qualification for Paris 2024: AHF Asian Olympic Qualification Tournament: Winners

Previous appearances: 1972: 11th, 1976: 9th, 1984: 10th, 1988: 11th, 2020: 11th

Group at Paris 2024: Group A: Spain, Croatia, Germany, Slovenia, Sweden, Japan

Photo credit: JHA / Yukihito Taguchi