The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea emerged as winners at the Women’s IHF Nations Trophy – Asia Zone IA, with four wins in four matches, in the competition which took place in Hong Kong, China between 14 and 18 October.

Six teams lined up at the start of the competition, being divided into two groups of three teams each. The winners of each group, plus the second-placed teams, advanced to the semi-finals of the competition.

In Group A, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea won both matches in comfortable fashion, taking a 30:24 win against hosts Hong Kong, China and 47:10 against Macau. Hong Kong, China also progressed to the semi-finals thanks to their 39:5 win over Macau.

In Group B, Vietnam emerged as winners, taking a 42:16 win over Mongolia and a hard-fought 21:20 win against the Chinese Taipei, staving off a comeback attempt from their opponents in the last seconds. Chinese Taipei beat Mongolia, 41:11, to secure the second place in the group.

Hong Kong, China then surprised Vietnam in the semi-finals, with a hard-fought 23:21 win, after dominating the second half. Lei Ling Wu had 13 goals for Hong Kong, China, in a match decided by the finest of margins, with Vietnam scoring only eight goals in the second half, as their attack was left in need of more firepower.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had no issues against the Chinese Taipei in the second semi-final, taking a clear 30:19 win and securing their place in the final, for a rematch against the hosts.

This time around, the battle was far more balanced, and Hong Kong, China even took a 4:3 lead after 8 minutes. A 5:0 run for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea then set the tone, not before the hosts came back again and tied the score, 9:9.

Another 5:0 run for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was the decisive moment in the match, as they prevented their opponents to score for the last six and a half minutes in the first half.

Ji Hyang Kim scored seven for the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Song Ok Kim added five, as their side stood tall and eventually clinched a 25:22 win, securing the title.

In the bronze-medal match, Vietnam won against the Chinese Taipei, 25:20, securing the last place on the podium. Macau beat Mongolia, 24:18, to end up fifth.

Hong Kong, China’s Lei Ling Wu was the top scorer of the competition, with 27 goals, followed by Vietnam’s Thi Anh Tuyet Nguyen, with 25 goals and Chinese Taipei’s Yu-Jia Yan, with 20 goals.

Having won the title at the Women’s IHF Nations Trophy – Asia Zone IA, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea have qualified for the 2026 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, which will take place in Kazakhstan between 23 November and 3 December.

Photo credit: HKCD