With three wins from three games each, both Japan and Korea are again set to decide the winner of the AHF Women’s Asian Junior Championship after the completion of the preliminary round. 

Following the start of the competition on Saturday (20 July), six matchdays have passed with two clear favourites emerging ahead of the semi-finals tomorrow (Friday 26 July).

Korea (KOR) won their group, A, with clear wins over China (CHN), Kazakhstan (KAZ) and Chinese Taipei (TPE), ending with a +51 goal difference. Korea are the winners of all 14 previous editions and are looking to add a 15th at the Hatem Achour Complex in Beirut, Lebanon, where the competition is being held before finishing on Monday 29 July.

Over in group B, Japan have easily beaten Uzbekistan (UZB), India (IND) and hosts Lebanon (LBN) to end up topping their group with six points and a goal difference of +43.

The semi-finals will see host nation Lebanon take on the might of Korea, while Japan face China. The competition in Lebanon also acts as a qualification event for the 2020 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship in Romania.

MATCH SCHEDULE
All times local

Friday 26 July
Rest Day

Saturday 27 July
13:00    TPE vs IND
15:00    UZB vs KAZ
17:00    Semi-Final 1: KOR vs LBN
19:00    Semi-Final 2: JPN vs CHN

Sunday 28 July
17:00    7/8 Placement Match
19:00    5/6 Placement Match

Monday 29 July
17:00    3/4 Placement Match/Bronze
19:00    Final/Gold Medal Match

RESULTS

Saturday 20 July
JPN vs UZB 38:24 (18:11)
LBN vs IND 37:27 (18:17)

Sunday 21 July
CHN vs KAZ 38:23 (20:12)
KOR vs TPE 31:18 (14:11)

Monday 22 July
IND vs JPN 19:40 (10:18)
UZB vs LBN 25:25 (11:14)

Tuesday 23 July
TPE vs CHN 15:33 (10:15)
KAZ vs KOR 18:44 (5:25)

Wednesday 24 July
UZB vs IND 38:30 (16:16)
LBN vs JPN 23:31 (10:17)

Thursday 25 July
KAZ vs TPE 24:31 (13:15)
KOR vs CHN 35:23 (16:12)