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

Inazawa, Japan - South Korea claimed the women's handball gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games, ending an eight-year title drought, according to Yonhap news agency. The victory came against host nation Japan, who defeated Korea 27-23 in the final match of the women's handball tournament at Entrio in Inazawa, located northwest of Nagoya, Japan.

With this win, South Korea finished with a perfect record of six victories from six matches, surpassing Japan's five wins and one loss. The Asian Games handball competition was structured as a round-robin tournament with no knockout stage, and medals were awarded based on final standings. This marked Korea's first Asian Games title in eight years, following their wins in 2014 and 2018, as well as finishing without a gold in 2023.

Before Sunday's final, both South Korea and Japan were undefeated, each securing five wins. The Korea-Japan clash was a rematch of the event's final at the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, where Korea had lost to Japan 29-19.