Men's National Handball Team.
The Korean men's handball team, looking to qualify for the Olympic Games for the first time in 12 years, suffered its first loss after three consecutive victories at the Asia-Pacific Qualifier for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
South Korea fell 25-39 to Qatar in the fourth match of the tournament's Group A on Wednesday (Sept. 23) in Doha, Qatar.
South Korea had previously won three straight games against the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and India, but could not break through the barrier of Asia's top-ranked Qatar, who won gold at the 2022 Hangzhou Asian Games.
Park Kwang-soon (Hanam City Hall), who scored a team-high five goals on the day, said, "It was an important game, but I made mistakes and didn't show my best. We will reflect on the result and prepare well for the next match."
South Korea will play their final group game against China at 9 p.m. on Thursday. Currently, Qatar is in first place with four wins, while Korea and Saudi Arabia are tied for second with three wins and one loss.
South Korea will need to beat China first, and then Qatar will need to earn a draw or better against Saudi Arabia to qualify for the final four, which will be awarded to the second best team in the group.
The Olympic Asian Qualifiers featured 11 nations in two groups. South Korea was placed in Group A alongside Qatar, China, India, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE. The first and second place finishers in each group will compete in a quarterfinal tournament to determine the winner.
The winner receives a direct ticket to the Olympics, while the runner-up receives a ticket to the Olympic World Qualifier.
South Korea has qualified for the Olympic Games seven times, including four consecutive Olympic Games from Sydney 2000 to London 2012, but failed to qualify for Rio de Janeiro 2016 and Tokyo 2020. The team is looking to qualify for the eighth time in its history and the first time in 12 years. 슬롯사이트