After a tight second half, Japan cheered for a first ever gold in the Asian youth Championship. The reigning champion South Korea clinched silver, while Kuwait captured bronze during the final weekend.
Japan turned up the heat early on, with a 15–9-lead at half-time. South Korea halved the distance but the overturn never came to fruition. Japan pushed on to 26–24, with good help from the top scorer Sora Furusawa.
Kuwait returned to the podium after a long wait (2008) by defeating Saudi Arabia by 30–26. Much interest circled around the fifth place game, Bahrain decided a extra-time drama against Iran and secured a ticket to the Men’s Youth World Championship next year, together with the top four teams.
All-Star Team in Asian Men’s Youth Handball Championship
Source: IHF
Goalkeeper: Hong Ui-Seok (South Korea)
Right wing: Salman Al-Showikh (Bahrain)
Right back: Abdullatif Salmin (Kuwait)
Centre back: Ahmed Al-Obaidi (Saudi Arabia)
Left back: Sora Furusawa (Japan)
Left wing: Kaisei Nanjo (Japan)
Line player: Choe Do-Hun (South Korea)
MVP: Masato Ohashi (Japan)