South Women's Handball Team Shines with Mix of Youth and Experience, Sets Sights on 12th Straight Olympic Berth

The South Korean women's national handball team has reclaimed the Asian Games throne for the first time in eight years, fueled by a team-first spirit combining seasoned veterans and rising youngsters.

Led by head coach Lee Gye-chung, the national team secured the gold medal by defeating Japan 27-23 in the final round-robin match of the 2026 Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, which concluded yesterday (the 27th) at the Inazawa Entrio in Aichi Prefecture, Japan.

Following the conclusion of the 2025-2026 Handball H-League, national team players gathered at the Jincheon National Training Center in Chungcheongbuk-do last May to prepare for the Asian Games through four months of intensive training.

Coach Lee selected 16 players to form the ultimate chemistry, centered around 36-year-old veteran duo Kwon Han-na and Ryu Eun-hee (both of Busan Infrastructure Corporation), the team's oldest members.

Along with Coach Lee, the squad included two gold medalists from the 2018 Jakarta-Palembang Games, four silver medalists from the Hangzhou Games, and veterans with extensive Olympic experience.

World-class player Ryu Eun-hee boasted the most illustrious resume, having competed on four Olympic stages—London 2012, Rio de Janeiro 2016, Tokyo 2020, and Paris 2024—while five other players who participated in the Paris Olympics formed the backbone of the team.

There were also seven young players born in the 2000s, including Woo Bit-na (Seoul City Hall).

Coach Lee managed all six Asian Games matches by strategically utilizing experienced players such as Kwon Han-na, Ryu Eun-hee, and Lee Yeon-kyung (34, Samcheok City Hall) in two crucial games against China and Japan to properly distribute their stamina while evenly deploying the entire roster.

As a result, seven players surpassed 20 cumulative points, contributing to the scoring effort.

Five players born in the 2000s—including Cho Eun-bin (Seoul City Hall), Lee Won-jung (Daegu Metropolitan City Hall), Lee Hye-won (Busan Infrastructure Corporation), and Jeon Ji-yeon (Samcheok City Hall)—infused energy into the team with their high-energy play.

Ryu Eun-hee (6 goals) and Kwon Han-na (7 goals) combined for 13 goals, accounting for nearly half of the team's total score in the de facto final against Japan, fully displaying their presence as veteran leaders.

Teamwork surpassed Japan's, prompting team captain Kwon Han-na to state, "Our teamwork was better than ever."

Building on the confidence of recapturing the Asian summit, anticipation is growing over whether the women's national handball team can advance to the finals of the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics.

South Korea has built a monumental milestone by advancing to the Olympic finals for 11 consecutive times up to the Paris Olympics.

The South Korean women's national team is the only team, across both men and women, to have competed in 11 consecutive Olympic handball finals.

Twelve nations will participate in the LA Olympics finals, and South Korea aims for a direct ticket at the Asian qualifiers to be held in Japan next September.

Although South Korea lost to Japan at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games held in 2023, the team edged out Japan to secure the finals ticket at the 2024 Paris Olympics Asian qualifiers held earlier that year in August.

Japanese women's handball, which has chased closely on South Korea's heels, has only qualified for the Olympic finals twice—including the 2020 Tokyo Olympics held in its home country—blocked by the wall of South Korea.

Immediately after winning the championship, Coach Lee revealed, "While generational change is important, I asked the veteran players not to retire and to take responsibility in preparing for the LA Olympics so that South Korean women's handball can continue its record of 12 consecutive Olympic appearances."

This is because the synergistic effect of the harmony between youth and experience achieved this time can exert its power in next year's Asian qualifiers as well.

If younger players grow further and veterans who have left a major mark on Korean handball history push from behind, the probability of women's handball heading to LA will also increase.

※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.