The 22nd edition of the AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship will throw off on 15 January, in Kuwait, with 15 teams at the start. As the continental competition serves as a qualification for the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship, the top four teams in the final standings will seal a ticket to the world handball flagship competition.

All of the winners of the previous 21 editions – the Republic of Korea, Qatar, Kuwait and Japan – will line up at the start, with the sole aim of winning more silverware, but the battle looks tough from the start, with plenty of challengers for the podium.

15 teams will line up at the start of the competition, being divided into four groups in the preliminary round – with three groups of four teams and one group of three teams. The top two teams in each group will progress to the main round, while the others will be heading to the Martyr Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Cup.

From the main round groups, the top two teams in each of the two groups will progress to the semi-finals, with the medals being awarded on 29 January, when the competition is ending.

Qatar have exercised firm control over the competition during the last six editions, securing the title on each occasion. The most recent AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship not won by the Gulf side dates back to 2012, when the Republic of Korea claimed their ninth continental crown.

With Spanish coach Valero Rivera returning to lead the team in 2025, Qatar will seek to further consolidate their supremacy. In the preliminary round, they have been drawn into Group A alongside the Republic of Korea and Oman, setting up a high-profile encounter between the two most successful nations in the event’s history, as Qatar and the Republic of Korea have amassed a combined total of 15 titles.

In Group B, Bahrain will be favoured, after putting together a series of five medals in the past six editions and will be facing IIraq, Jordan and the People’s Republic of China. Group C will see hosts Kuwait take on India, the United Arab Emirates and Hong Kong-China, being clearly favoured for the top spot of the group.

Group D looks like the most balanced one. Continental powerhouse Japan, which featured at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and finished as runners-up to Qatar in the previous edition, boasting the second largest number of medals in the history of the competition, with 13 medals, are due to face Saudi Arabia, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Oceania representative Australia.

With only two spots available for the main round, this promises to be a crunch battle, with the match between Saudi Arabia and Iran – the opener of the group – promising to be crucial for the final outcome for both sides.

The 2026 AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship will take place in Kuwait between 15 and 29 January, with the medal matches scheduled for 29 January. The top four sides in the final standings will progress to the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship.

2026 AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship - preliminary round

Group A: Qatar, Republic of Korea, Oman
Group B: Bahrain, Iraq, People's Republic of China, Jordan
Group C: Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong-China, India
Group D: Japan, Islamic Republic of Iran, Saudi Arabia, Australia