Handball at the 2024 Summer Olympics – Asian men's qualification tournament facts for kids
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| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host country |  Qatar |
| Dates | 18–28 October 2023 |
| Teams | 11 (from 1 confederation) |
| Venue(s) | 1 (in 1 host city) |
| Final positions | |
| Champions |  JPN |
| Runner-up |  BHR |
| Third place |  KOR |
| Fourth place | QAT |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches | 32 |
| Goals scored | 1882 (58.81 per match) |
The Asian Men's Qualification for Olympic Games 2024 was a big handball tournament. It was held in Doha, Qatar, from October 18 to 28, 2023. Teams from across Asia competed to earn a spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Japan won the tournament, which means they automatically qualified for the Olympics! The team that came in second, Bahrain, still has a chance. They will play in special 2024 IHF Men's Olympic Qualification Tournaments to try and qualify.
Contents
How the Tournament Worked
The tournament started with a "preliminary round." This is like a group stage where teams play against others in their group. The top teams from each group then move on to the "knockout stage," which includes semifinals and a final.
Preliminary Round: Group A
In Group A, six teams competed. Sadly, the team from Uzbekistan had to withdraw before the tournament began.
The teams in Group A were:
- Qatar
- South Korea
- Saudi Arabia
- United Arab Emirates
- China
- India
Qatar played really well and won all their games, finishing first in Group A. South Korea also did great, coming in second. Both of these teams moved on to the semifinals.
Here are a few examples of the exciting matches from Group A:
| 18 October 2023 11:00 |
South Korea  |
29–23 |  UAE |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB) |
| Jang 5 | (15–6) | Rashed 6 | ||
1× 1× |
4× 1× |
| 18 October 2023 19:00 |
Qatar  |
34–25 |  CHN |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Gheisarian, Gheisarian (IRI) |
| Madadi 8 | (17–13) | Zhu 8 | ||
| 4× |
7× |
| 22 October 2023 19:00 |
South Korea |
25–39 | QAT |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
| Park K. 5 | (11–16) | Madadi 9 | ||
| 4× 1× |
7× |
Preliminary Round: Group B
Group B had five strong teams competing for a spot in the semifinals.
The teams in Group B were:
- Japan
- Bahrain
- Iran
- Kuwait
- Kazakhstan
Japan showed their strength by winning all their matches, securing the top spot in Group B. Bahrain also played very well, finishing second and earning their place in the semifinals.
Here are some of the exciting games from Group B:
| 18 October 2023 17:00 |
Japan  |
25–20 |  IRI |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| Yasuhira 6 | (14–8) | Oraei 7 | ||
| 4× |
4× |
| 19 October 2023 17:00 |
Japan |
27–26 | BHR |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
| Motoki 5 | (14–16) | Naser 7 | ||
4× 1× 1× |
3× 1× |
| 24 October 2023 17:00 |
Bahrain  |
28–24 | IRI |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| Al-Sayyad 9 | (16–12) | Oraei 8 | ||
| 1× 1× |
3× 1× |
Knockout Stage: The Finals Begin!
The knockout stage is where the top teams play single-elimination games. This means if you lose, you're out of the running for the championship!
Semifinals
The semifinals were played on October 26, 2023.
| 26 October 2023 17:30 |
Qatar |
29–30 | BHR |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
| Ali 11 | (14–15) | Fadhul 7 | ||
| 4× 2× |
6× 2× 1× |
| 26 October 2023 19:30 |
Japan |
34–23 | KOR |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| Baig 6 | (15–9) | Lee H. 7 | ||
| 4× |
2× 1× |
Bahrain won a very close game against Qatar, winning 30-29. Japan had a strong performance, beating South Korea 34-23. This meant Japan and Bahrain would play in the final!
Third Place Game
The third place game decides which team gets the bronze medal.
| 28 October 2023 15:00 |
Qatar |
32–38 | KOR |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA) |
| Ali, Denguir 7 | (15–17) | Park K. 11 | ||
| 3× |
3× |
South Korea defeated Qatar 38-32 to win the bronze medal.
Final
The final match was played on October 28, 2023, to decide the champion and the team that would qualify for the Olympics.
| 28 October 2023 17:30 |
Bahrain |
29–32 | JPN |
Duhail Handball Sports Hall, Doha Referees: Schulze, Tönnies (GER) |
| Al-Sayyad 10 | (13–18) | Yasuhira 10 | ||
| 6× 1× |
7× 2× |
Japan won the final against Bahrain with a score of 32-29. This victory secured their spot in the 2024 Summer Olympics!
Final Standings
Here's how all the teams finished in the tournament:
| Rank | Team |
|---|---|
 |
JPN |
 |
BHR |
 |
KOR |
| 4 | QAT |
| 5 | IRI |
| 6 |  KSA |
| 7 |  KUW |
| 8 | UAE |
| 9 | CHN |
| 10 |  KAZ |
| 11 |  IND |
| This team qualified directly for the 2024 Summer Olympics. | |
| This team qualified for the 2024 Olympic Qualification Tournaments (another chance to qualify). |
Images for kids
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Official logo of the tournament.
