Hong Kong, China and Chinese Taipei seal titles at the Men's IHF Trophy – Zone Asia I-A

Hong Kong, China's junior team and Chinese Taipei's youth team secured the titles in the Men's IHF Trophy – Zone Asia I-A, which took place between 21 and 25 July in Hong Kong, China.

Four teams lined up in the junior (U20) category - Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Mongolia and Vietnam - who played a round-robin phase over three matchdays, before crossover semi-finals, a final and a bronze-medal match decided the podium.

Chinese Taipei were the form side of the round robin, winning all three of their matches: 21:20 over Hong Kong, 44:22 over Mongolia and 36:29 over Vietnam. Vietnam finished second behind them, opening with a comfortable 42:29 win over Mongolia and following up with a 22:19 win over the hosts, before their only defeat came against Chinese Taipei. Mongolia snatched third spot with a narrow 22:21 win over Hong Kong on the final matchday, leaving the hosts without a win from the group phase.

That result set up crossover semi-finals between the group's first and fourth-placed sides, and second and third. Hong Kong, bottom of the round robin, produced the tournament's biggest upset by edging group winners Chinese Taipei, 20:18, while Vietnam comfortably saw off Mongolia, 39:26, to reach the final.

The final proved to be a repeat of the group-phase script, with Hong Kong once again getting the better of a side they had trailed in the standings. The hosts held on for a 28:27 win over Vietnam to claim the title, having lost all three of their round-robin matches just days earlier. The match went to overtime, after Hong Kong were down five goals in the 33rd minute, 11:15. After 60 minutes, the score was tied, 20:20, with the same result after two halves of five minutes each in over time, 24:24. The hosts clinched the win by dominating the next two halves, taking a 28:27 win and the title. Chinese Taipei responded to their semi-final exit by beating Mongolia comfortably in the bronze-medal match, 41:22, to round out the podium.

Mongolia's Tumenbayar Altantsog was the top scorer of the competition, with 35 goals.

Final standings - Junior: 1. Hong Kong, China, 2. Vietnam, 3. Chinese Taipei, 4. Mongolia.

Five teams contested the youth (U18) category - Chinese Taipei, Hong Kong, China, Macao, Mongolia and Vietnam – who played a single round robin over five matchdays, with the standings after the final round deciding the champions.

Chinese Taipei went through the competition unbeaten, defeating Hong Kong 29:25 on the opening day before adding wins over Macao (36:14), Vietnam (39:17) and Mongolia (41:22), finishing on eight points with a goal difference of +67. Hong Kong took second place with three wins from four, losing only to the eventual champions before responding with wins over Vietnam (37:13), Mongolia (44:27) and Macao (42:25).

Macao completed the podium in third, beating Mongolia in a tight 37:35 contest and Vietnam 33:16, against two defeats to the tournament's top two sides. Mongolia's sole win came in the tournament's opening match, a 36:31 defeat of Vietnam, before three straight defeats left them fourth. Vietnam finished the round robin without a win, taking fifth place after four defeats.

Mongolia's Battulga Boldbaatar was the top scorer, with 34 goals.

Final standings - Youth: 1. Chinese Taipei 2. Hong Kong, China, 3. Macao, 4. Mongolia, 5. Vietnam