Korea tops Qatar in handball championship

The men’s handball team won the 15th Asian Handball Championship on Sunday, taking the crown for the third consecutive and ninth overall time.

At Green Hall in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Korea beat Qatar 23-22 in the final as veteran Yoon Kyung-shin, who is also participating as an assistant coach, scored seven goals and Lee Jae-woo netted five. Lee was voted the Most Valuable Player at the tournament.

Korea had a tough time in this competition with all of the previous four games, including the finals, being decided by only a single goal. In fact, the team was trailing 11-10 in the first half, but the players didn’t give up until the final whistle. The come-from-behind win revenged a 40-28 loss against Qatar at the 2006 Asian Games in Doha.

Korea secured its slot for the 2012 Summer Games last November, taking first place at the Asian qualifiers after beating Japan. The team will compete in the Olympics for the fourth consecutive time and will look for its first medal since the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when it took silver.

Meanwhile, in the third-place match, Japan beat Saudi Arabia 25-21 and qualified for the 2013 World Handball Championship in Spain.

[kjoo@joongang.co.kr]