The preliminary round of the 2026 AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship has concluded on Tuesday, 20 January, with several surprises produced by underdogs shifting the picture of the competition.

For the first time in 16 years, after a streak of 14 consecutive wins in the preliminary round of the competition, reigning champions Qatar, which secured the title in the past six editions, conceded a loss, against the Republic of Korea, in a hard-fought match between the two sides.

The match was properly balanced throughout the 60 minutes, but after Qatar took a 16:14 lead at the break, Korea started mounting a comeback. Once again, the Gulf team wrestled back the lead, but the final minutes were all Korea, a goal from Yusung Jin saw Korea finally take a two-goal lead with eight seconds to go, as Qatar could only limit the damage in a 31:32 loss.

That meant that the Republic of Korea finished on top in Group A, which means they will head to Group I of the main round, where they are due to face Japan, Iraq and Kuwait.

Runners-up at the previous edition, Japan were surely aiming to win Group D, but it proved that the most balanced group in the competition had other plans, with Saudi Arabia making it three out of three against the Islamic Republic of Iran, Japan and Australia.

With Saudi Arabia finishing ninth in the previous edition, their worst result at the AHF Asian Men’s Handball Championship since 1991, they were in the third pot at the draw, but Dimitris Dimitroulias’ side provided excellent performances against Iran and Japan to win their group.

First, they dispatched the Islamic Republic of Iran, 24:22, with a nine-goal performance from Sadiq Almoshin, following up with another crucial win against Japan, 24:22, where Mojtaba Al Salem, the second best scorer of the 2025 IHF Men's Club World Championship, scored eight goals.

 

A 42:24 win against Australia saw Dimitroulias’ side finish first in the group, followed by Japan, which mounted a fiery comeback against Iran in the last match of the group – the decider. By the 39th minute, Iran were up four goals, 20:16, and it was looking increasingly likely that they would secure the win and the main round berth.

With 10 minutes to go, Iran were still up five goals, 25:20, only for Japan to finish off the match with a 10:4 run, spurred by Yuga Enomoto, who scored eight goals. Goalkeeper Takumi Nakamura made some key saves, finishing the match with 15 shots stopped, and Japan eventually emerged as winners, 30:29, keeping their title run alive.

In Group C, the hosts, Kuwait, dominated their opponents, with a 45:12 win against India, a 39:25 win against Hong Kong-China and a 27:22 win against the United Arab Emirates, to secure the first place in the group. They were joined by the United Arab Emirates in the main round, after they won 36:21 against Hong Kong-China and 43:21 against India.

Group B saw the usual suspects, Bahrain, secure three wins – 32:21 against Jordan, 40:29 against the People’s Republic of China and 34:18 against Iraq – but the big surprise was Iraq progressing to the next phase, with a 27:22 win against China and a 26:21 win against Jordan.

The main round Group I will see the Republic of Korea, Kuwait, Iraq and Japan do battle for the top two places in the group, while in Group II, it will be a Gulf affair between Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates. All teams will start on zero points.

The top two sides in each group will progress to the semi-finals and secure a place at the 2027 IHF Men’s World Championship.

The main round matches will take place on 22, 23 and 25 January, with the semi-finals scheduled on 27 January and the medal matches, including the final, on 29 January.

Jordan’s Khaled Abu Hasan is the top scorer of the competition, with 22 goals, followed by Hong Kong-China’s Siu Chung Lee, Iran’s Pouya Norouzi Neshad and Kuwait’s Saif Aladwani with 20 goals each.

Photo credit: Kuwait Handball Federation