# 2018 Asian Women's Handball Championship

The 2018 Asian Women's Handball Championship was the 17th edition of the Asian Women's Handball Championship, which took place from 30 November to 9 December 2018 in Kumamoto, Yamaga and Yatsushiro, Japan. The tournament was held under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation and acted as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship.
South Korea won their fourth straight and 14th overall title after defeating Japan in the final.

## Draw

The draw was held on 6 August 2018 at the Hotel Nikko in Kumamoto.
Teams were seeded according to the AHF COC regulations and rankings of the previous edition of the championship. Teams who had not participate in the previous edition were in Pot 4.
| Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 |
| South Korea Japan | China Kazakhstan | Iran Hong Kong | Australia New Zealand India Singapore |

## Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+9).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan (H) | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 140 | 55 | +85 | 8 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Kazakhstan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 148 | 95 | +53 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Australia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 99 | 105 | −6 | 4 | 5–8th place semifinals |
| 4 | Iran | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 96 | 120 | −24 | 2 | 5–8th place semifinals |
| 5 | New Zealand | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 158 | −108 | 0 | 9th place game |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | Australia | 24–32 | Kazakhstan | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 800 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | Potocki 12 | (15–15) | three players 7 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 800 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | 3× | Report | 3× 1× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 800 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | New Zealand | 5–41 | Japan | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | Anastasiou 3 | (2–20) | Tanabe 9 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | 1× 5× | Report | 1× 2× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | Iran | 26–41 | Kazakhstan | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 360 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | Rajabi 6 | (12–18) | Abilda 10 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 360 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | 1× 4× | Report | 3× 2× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 360 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | Australia | 18–37 | Japan | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | Potocki 8 | (8–19) | Katsuren 8 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | 1× 4× | Report | 2× 2× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | Kazakhstan | 51–14 | New Zealand | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | Abilda, Khardina 8 | (26–5) | Anastasiou 6 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | 2× 1× | Report | 2× 3× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | Australia | 29–24 | Iran | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 400 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | Potocki 12 | (12–11) | Janbaz 6 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 400 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | 1× 4× | Report | 3× 4× 1× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 400 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | New Zealand | 12–28 | Australia | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | Hazelton 4 | (3–15) | Mouncey 6 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | 2× 5× | Report | 2× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | Iran | 8–31 | Japan | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | Baperi 3 | (5–15) | Yokoshima 7 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | 3× 3× | Report | 2× 2× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,700 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | New Zealand | 19–38 | Iran | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | Anastasiou 7 | (10–20) | Baperi 6 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | 1× 5× | Report | 3× 1× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 500 |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | Japan | 31–24 | Kazakhstan | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,550 |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | Tanabe 9 | (14–11) | Alexandrova, Tankina 6 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,550 |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | 4× 2× | Report | 1× 4× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 1,550 |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | South Korea | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 139 | 57 | +82 | 8 | Semifinals |
| 2 | China | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 121 | 53 | +68 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Hong Kong | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 82 | 114 | −32 | 4 | 5–8th place semifinals |
| 4 | India | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 73 | 113 | −40 | 2 | 5–8th place semifinals |
| 5 | Singapore | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 45 | 123 | −78 | 0 | 9th place game |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | Singapore | 7–35 | China | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | Ham, Leow 2 | (2–15) | Tian, Zhou 5 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |
| 30 November 2018 16:45 | | Report | | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | India | 10–37 | South Korea | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | Menika 4 | (5–17) | three players 7 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 30 November 2018 19:00 | 2× 4× | Report | 2× 3× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | Hong Kong | 10–36 | China | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | Wu 4 | (2–16) | Liang 8 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 1 December 2018 13:45 | 2× 1× | Report | 3× 3× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 600 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | Singapore | 9–41 | South Korea | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | Chan, Wan 3 | (1–24) | Lee M. 10 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 1 December 2018 16:00 | 1× 2× | Report | | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | China | 29–12 | India | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 800 |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | Jin 7 | (16–4) | Menika 6 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 800 |
| 2 December 2018 13:45 | 1× 3× | Report | 2× 2× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 800 |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | Singapore | 12–25 | Hong Kong | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 711 |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | Wan 4 | (7–13) | Wong Y. 5 | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 711 |
| 2 December 2018 16:00 | 5× | Report | 2× 1× | Yamaga Gymnasium, Yamaga Attendance: 711 |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | Hong Kong | 17–37 | South Korea | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 250 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | Cheung Me. 4 | (7–19) | Jung 10 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 250 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 4 December 2018 16:45 | 1× 4× | Report | 1× 1× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 250 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | India | 22–17 | Singapore | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 300 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | Anumit, H. Kaur 5 | (13–7) | Wan 8 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 300 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 4 December 2018 19:00 | 3× 3× | Report | 1× 1× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 300 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | South Korea | 24–21 | China | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | Jung 8 | (14–12) | Jin, Zhou 4 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 5 December 2018 16:45 | 1× 1× | Report | 1× 5× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Attendance: 700 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | India | 29–30 | Hong Kong | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | Menika 10 | (15–18) | Cheung Me. 8 | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 5 December 2018 19:00 | 2× | Report | 3× | Yatsushiro Gymnasium, Yatsushiro Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |

## Knockout stage
### Bracket

| Semifinals | Semifinals | Final | Final |
| 7 December | 7 December |
| South Korea | 31 |
| South Korea | 31 | 9 December | 9 December |
| Kazakhstan | 23 | 9 December | 9 December |
| Kazakhstan | 23 | South Korea | 30 |
| 7 December | 7 December | | South Korea | 30 |
| 7 December | 7 December | Japan | 25 |
| Japan | 23 | Japan | 25 |
| China | 21 | | |
| China | 21 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 9 December | 9 December |
| | | Kazakhstan | 21 |
| | | China | 27 |

#### 5–8th place bracket

| 5–8th place semifinals | 5–8th place semifinals | Fifth place | Fifth place |
| 7 December | 7 December |
| Australia | 31 |
| Australia | 31 | 8 December | 8 December |
| India | 27 | 8 December | 8 December |
| India | 27 | Australia | 30 |
| 7 December | 7 December | | Australia | 30 |
| 7 December | 7 December | Iran | 24 |
| Hong Kong | 17 | Iran | 24 |
| Iran | 19 | | |
| Iran | 19 | Seventh place | Seventh place |
| | | 8 December | 8 December |
| | | India | 27 |
| | | Hong Kong | 31 |

### 5–8th place semifinals

| 7 December 2018 12:30 | Australia | 31–27 | India | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 139 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 7 December 2018 12:30 | Potocki 13 | (16–13) | Prachi 7 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 139 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 7 December 2018 12:30 | 3× 5× | Report | 2× 8× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 139 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 7 December 2018 14:30 | Hong Kong | 17–19 | Iran | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 650 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 7 December 2018 14:30 | Cheung Me. 5 | (7–10) | Janbaz 5 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 650 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 7 December 2018 14:30 | 1× 2× | Report | | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 650 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |

### Semifinals

| 7 December 2018 16:45 | South Korea | 31–23 | Kazakhstan | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 830 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 7 December 2018 16:45 | Shin 9 | (14–13) | Abilda 6 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 830 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 7 December 2018 16:45 | 3× 4× | Report | 2× 2× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 830 Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRI) |
| 7 December 2018 19:00 | Japan | 23–21 | China | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 1,380 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 7 December 2018 19:00 | Hara 8 | (11–11) | Jin 9 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 1,380 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |
| 7 December 2018 19:00 | 1× 4× | Report | 3× 2× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 1,380 Referees: Antić, Jakovljević (SRB) |

### Ninth place game

| 7 December 2018 10:30 | New Zealand | 18–20 | Singapore | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 7 December 2018 10:30 | Mair 5 | (5–10) | Gan, Wan 5 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |
| 7 December 2018 10:30 | 2× 2× | Report | 2× 5× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN) |

### Seventh place game

| 8 December 2018 13:45 | India | 27–31 | Hong Kong | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 8 December 2018 13:45 | Prachi 7 | (15–17) | Cheung Me. 6 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |
| 8 December 2018 13:45 | 2× 4× | Report | 3× 3× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 500 Referees: Lee, Lee (KOR) |

### Fifth place game

| 8 December 2018 16:00 | Australia | 30–24 | Iran | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 550 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |
| 8 December 2018 16:00 | Guignard 10 | (13–12) | Fallahi 7 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 550 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |
| 8 December 2018 16:00 | 1× 3× | Report | 1× 7× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 550 Referees: Hizaki, Ikebuchi (JPN) |

### Third place game

| 9 December 2018 12:45 | Kazakhstan | 21–27 | China | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 2,400 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 9 December 2018 12:45 | three players 4 | (11–13) | Huang Y., Zhou 6 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 2,400 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |
| 9 December 2018 12:45 | 1× 3× | Report | 3× 4× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 2,400 Referees: Shimajiri, Ota (JPN) |

### Final

| 9 December 2018 15:00 | South Korea | 30–25 | Japan | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 3,087 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 9 December 2018 15:00 | Ryu 11 | (14–15) | Hara, Yokoshima 5 | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 3,087 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 9 December 2018 15:00 | 1× 3× | Report | 2× 5× | Kumamoto Prefectural Gymnasium, Kumamoto Attendance: 3,087 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |

## Final standing

| Rank | Team |
| | South Korea |
| | Japan |
| | China |
| 4 | Kazakhstan |
| 5 | Australia |
| 6 | Iran |
| 7 | Hong Kong |
| 8 | India |
| 9 | Singapore |
| 10 | New Zealand |
^ 1. If countries from Oceania (Australia or New Zealand) participating in the Asian Championships finished within the top 5, they qualified for the World Championships. If they had both placed sixth or lower, the place would have been transferred to the wild card spot.
* Qualified for the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship

## Statistics
### Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Team | Goals |
| 1 | Sally Potocki | Australia | 57 |
| 2 | Dana Abilda | Kazakhstan | 40 |
| 3 | Menika Menika | India | 32 |
| 3 | Jung Yu-ra | South Korea | 32 |
| 5 | Jin Mengqing | China | 31 |

### Top goalkeepers

| Rank | Name | Team | Saves (exc. 7M) | Shots (exc. 7M) | 7M Saves | 7M Thr. | Total Saves | Total Shots | % |
| 1 | Manon Vernay | Australia | 100 | 217 | 7 | 29 | 107 | 246 | 43.49% |
| 2 | Nina Shil | India | 63 | 184 | 2 | 24 | 65 | 208 | 31.73% |
| 3 | Zhannat Aitenova | Kazakhstan | 46 | 173 | 5 | 18 | 51 | 191 | 26.70% |
| 4 | Fatemeh Khalili Behfar | Iran | 38 | 128 | 4 | 17 | 42 | 145 | 28.96% |
| 5 | Sakura Hauge | Japan | 35 | 88 | 2 | 6 | 37 | 94 | 39.36% |
| 6 | Minami Itano | Japan | 33 | 67 | 1 | 9 | 34 | 76 | 44.74% |
| 7 | Park Sae-young | South Korea | 27 | 66 | 2 | 8 | 29 | 74 | 39.19% |
| 8 | Ju Hui | South Korea | 28 | 81 | 0 | 5 | 28 | 86 | 32.56% |
| 9 | Chan Kam Ling | Hong Kong | 25 | 78 | 0 | 33 | 25 | 111 | 22.52% |
| 10 | Huang Xia | China | 23 | 46 | 1 | 6 | 24 | 52 | 46.15% |