The 25th IHF Women's Junior (U20) World Championship is taking shape. With the draw for the preliminary round completed on Wednesday, 18 March, at the IHF Head Office in Basel, the road to Jinzhong is now clearly mapped out, with eight groups, 32 teams and the promise of the finest women's junior handball the world has to offer, from 24 June to 5 July 2026 in the People's Republic of China.

Based on the Regulations for IHF Competitions, the 2026 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship draw was conducted using four performance rows. The preliminary round will consist of eight groups of four teams each, with the top two sides in each group progressing to the main round.

Teams in Pot 1 were drawn in performance row 1, Pot 2 in row 2, Pot 3 in row 3 and Pot 4 in row 4. The 4th performance row was drawn first, followed by the 3rd and then the 1st row. Teams from Pots 4, 3 and 1 (starting with Pot 4 and in descending order) were drawn into Groups A–H in alphabetical order, i.e., the team drawn first went into Group A, the second team into Group B, etc. The 2nd performance row was drawn last, with the hosts, People’s Republic of China,having the prerogative to assign themselves to a group of their choice in row 2 before the remaining Pot 2 teams were drawn into Groups A–H in alphabetical order.

China chose Group E, alongside Denmark, Guinea and the team progressing from the IHF Trophy Intercontinental, with the Asian champions aiming to make it to the main round, just like this generation did two years ago, at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, when they ended up on the 15th place in the final standings.

Reigning champions France will play in Group A, alongside Egypt, Sweden and India, while European champions Germany have been drawn in Group C, alongside Romania, Brazil and Canada, making it for a well-balanced battle for the two main round spots.

The winners at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship, Spain, will aim once again for a medal, after securing silver at the W19 EHF EURO 2025, as they will face mixed styles in Group D, with Republic of Korea, Argentina and Türkiye as opponents.

 

In Group B, Austria and Serbia, the teams drawn from the first two pots, will be favoured against Angola and Paraguay, while Group H also looks like a very-well balanced one, with Croatia, Japan, Norway and a team to be decided, after Australia announced their withdrawal from the competition.

Theree European sides will fight for the two spots available for the main round in Group F, with Montenegro, Czechia, Iceland and the USA drawn together, while medal hopefuls Hungary are favoured in Group G, where they are due to meet Poland, the Chinese Taipei and Tunisia.

This marks the second time China has hosted the IHF Women's Junior World Championship, with the competition set to be played across four venues in Jinzhong: Jinzhong City Gymnasium, Jinzhong Vocational & Technical College Gymnasium, Shanxi Medical University Zhongdu Campus Gymnasium and Jinzhong University Gymnasium.

The competition will be played from 24 June to 5 July 2026 across four arenas in Jinzhong: Jinzhong City Gymnasium, Jinzhong Vocational & Technical College Gymnasium, Shanxi Medical University Zhongdu Campus Gymnasium and Jinzhong University Gymnasium. 

The top two teams in each group will progress to the main round, with the other two teams heading to the President’s Cup. The top two sides from each main round group will qualify for the quarter-finals.

2026 IHF Women's Junior World Championship – draw results 

Group A: France, Egypt, Sweden, India
Group B: Austria, Serbia, Angola, Paraguay
Group C: Germany, Romania, Brazil, Canada
Group D: Spain, Republic of Korea, Argentina, Türkiye
Group E: Denmark, People’s Republic of China, Guinea, IHF Trophy
Group F: Montenegro, Czechia, Iceland, United States of America
Group G: Hungary,  Poland, Chinese Taipei, Tunisia
Group H: Croatia, Japan, Norway, TBD