(Asiad) S. Korea wins gold in women's handball at Asian Games, ending 8-yr drought

INAZAWA, Japan, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- South Korea won the women's handball gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Sunday, ending an eight-year drought with a victory over host Japan.

South Korea beat Japan 27-23 in the sixth and final round of the women's handball competition at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of Nagoya, Japan.

With the win, South Korea finished first with six wins from six matches, edging out Japan, which had five wins and one loss.

The women's handball competition in Japan did not feature a knockout stage. Instead, all seven teams played each other once, with medals awarded based on their final round-robin standings.

Sunday's gold marked South Korea's first Asian Games title in eight years, after the country won the event in 2014 and 2018 before finishing without gold in 2023.

Before Sunday's match, South Korea and Japan were the only undefeated teams, with five wins apiece.

The final South Korea-Japan matchup was a rematch of the event's final at the Hangzhou Asian Games in 2023, when South Korea lost to Japan 29-19.

South Korea's Ryu Eun-hee (C) is in action against Japan during the teams' sixth match of the women's handball tournament at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of Nagoya, Japan, on Sept. 27, 2026. (Yonhap)