A new challenge for Signell, as Republic of Korea continue foreign path

In 2022, the Republic of Korea appointed foreign coaches for the men’s and women’s senior teams for the first time in history. While Kim Rasmussen managed to secure the trophy at the 2022 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, the Danish coach was replaced shortly afterwards following a mutual decision with the Korea Handball Federation (KHF).

The race for a new appointment started soon, and the KHF settled for another Scandinavian coach, this time reaching an agreement with Swedish coach Henrik Signell, who signed a one-year contract that will also cover the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, provided that the Republic of Korea qualify for the competition.

The 47-year-old Swedish coach has extended experience, both as a player and as a coach, starting his career as a player in 1993 for IK Sävehof. He transitioned to a coaching career in 2005, serving as both the men’s team assistant coach and the head coach of the women’s team until 2018.

Between 2016 and 2020, Signell served as the Sweden women’s national team coach, delivering a fourth place at the 2017 IHF Women’s World Championship, the best-ever performance for the Scandinavian team.

Signell also led Sweden at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, where the European side ended up in seventh place, but also at the 2019 IHF Women’s World Championship, where Sweden also finished seventh.

This will be the first experience outside Sweden and Europe for Signell, who has a defence-first approach and traditional use of fast breaks, which would bode well for the Republic of Korea.

The Swedish coach will make his debut at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games Asian Qualification Tournament, due to take place between 17 and 23 August in Japan, while his first major international tournament will be the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, set to be played in Denmark, Norway and Sweden between 29 November and 17 December.

Photo: Natasja Kleinjung