# 2020 Asian Men's Handball Championship

The 2020 Asian Men's Handball Championship was the 19th edition of the championship held under the aegis of Asian Handball Federation in Kuwait City, Kuwait from 16 to 27 January 2020. It acted as the Asian qualifying tournament for the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship.
Qatar won their fourth consecutive title by defeating South Korea 33–21 in the final.

## Venues

| Kuwait City | Kuwait City |
| Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex | Kuwait City |
| Capacity: 6,000 | Kuwait City |

## Draw

The draw was held on 2 November 2019 in the Millennium Hotel & Convention Centre, Salmiya, Kuwait.

### Seeding

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 |
| Qatar Bahrain South Korea Kuwait | Saudi Arabia Iran Japan United Arab Emirates | China Australia New Zealand | Iraq Hong Kong |

## Referees

The following nine referee pairs were selected by Asian Handball Federation and International Handball Federation for the championship.
Referees :
| Bahrain | Hussain Al-Mawt Samir Marhoon |
| Iran | Alireza Mousavian Majid Kolahduzan |
| Japan | Kiyoshi Hizaki Tomokazu Ikebuchi |
| Jordan | Akram Al-Zayat Yasser Awad |
| Kuwait | Ahmad Abdullah Al-Jaimaz Abdulrahman Ali Al-Mulla |
Referees :
| Norway | Lars Jørum Håvard Kleven |
| Oman | Khamis Al-Wahibi Omer Al-Shahi |
| Slovenia | Bojan Lah David Sok |
| South Korea | Koo Bon-ok Lee Seok |

## Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+3).

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Bahrain | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 67 | 36 | +31 | 4 | Main round |
| 2 | Iran | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 73 | 43 | +30 | 2 | Main round |
| 3 | New Zealand | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 37 | 98 | −61 | 0 | Placement round |
| 16 January 2020 13:00 | New Zealand | 16–45 | Bahrain | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 16 January 2020 13:00 | | (8–21) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 10:00 | Iran | 53–21 | New Zealand | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 10:00 | | (22–11) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 13:00 | Bahrain | 22–20 | Iran | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 13:00 | | (14–11) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |

### Group B

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qatar | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 85 | 46 | +39 | 4 | Main round |
| 2 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 52 | +15 | 2 | Main round |
| 3 | China | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 34 | 88 | −54 | 0 | Placement round |
| 16 January 2020 15:00 | China | 18–49 | Qatar | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 16 January 2020 15:00 | | (8–23) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 17:00 | Japan | 39–16 | China | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 17:00 | | (17–9) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 17:00 | Qatar | 36–28 | Japan | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 17:00 | | (16–17) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |

### Group C

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Saudi Arabia | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 66 | 42 | +24 | 4 | Main round |
| 2 | South Korea | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 67 | 49 | +18 | 2 | Main round |
| 3 | Australia | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 35 | 77 | −42 | 0 | Placement round |
| 16 January 2020 17:00 | Australia | 20–40 | South Korea | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 16 January 2020 17:00 | Gahan, Warrener 5 | (7–24) | Kim G. 6 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 16 January 2020 17:00 | 2× 3× | Report | 1× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Mousavian, Kolahdouzan (IRN) |
| 17 January 2020 15:00 | Saudi Arabia | 37–15 | Australia | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 15:00 | | (19–8) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 11:00 | South Korea | 27–29 | Saudi Arabia | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 18 January 2020 11:00 | Kim J. 9 | (15–13) | three players 5 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 18 January 2020 11:00 | 1× 5× | Report | 2× 7× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |

### Group D

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Kuwait (H) | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 87 | 57 | +30 | 6 | Main round |
| 2 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 75 | 50 | +25 | 4 | Main round |
| 3 | Iraq | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 84 | 67 | +17 | 2 | Placement round |
| 4 | Hong Kong | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 123 | −72 | 0 | Placement round |
| 16 January 2020 11:00 | Hong Kong | 11–38 | United Arab Emirates | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 16 January 2020 11:00 | | (4–21) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 16 January 2020 20:00 | Iraq | 22–25 | Kuwait | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 16 January 2020 20:00 | | (11–13) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 17:00 | Iraq | 19–20 | United Arab Emirates | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 17:00 | | (8–10) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 19:00 | Hong Kong | 18–42 | Kuwait | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 17 January 2020 19:00 | | (11–18) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 15:00 | Hong Kong | 22–43 | Iraq | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 15:00 | | (9–24) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 18 January 2020 19:00 | Kuwait | 20–17 | United Arab Emirates | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 18 January 2020 19:00 | | (11–10) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |

## Placement round
### Group 3

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
| 9 | Iraq | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 153 | 111 | +42 | 8 |
| 10 | Hong Kong | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 114 | 116 | −2 | 6 |
| 11 | China | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 127 | 123 | +4 | 4 |
| 12 | Australia | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 105 | 106 | −1 | 2 |
| 13 | New Zealand | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 111 | 154 | −43 | 0 |
| 20 January 2020 10:00 | Iraq | 38–31 | China | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 10:00 | | (17–13) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 12:00 | Hong Kong | 34–30 | New Zealand | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 12:00 | | (17–9) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 10:00 | Australia | 26–31 | Iraq | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 10:00 | | (15–18) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 12:00 | China | 27–32 | Hong Kong | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 12:00 | | (16–15) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 23 January 2020 10:00 | Australia | 25–28 | China | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA) |
| 23 January 2020 10:00 | | (13–14) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA) |
| 23 January 2020 12:00 | Iraq | 42–29 | New Zealand | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Jaimaz, Al-Mulla (KUW) |
| 23 January 2020 12:00 | | (22–13) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Jaimaz, Al-Mulla (KUW) |
| 25 January 2020 10:00 | Hong Kong | 25–42 | Iraq | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 10:00 | | (13–25) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 12:00 | Australia | 37–24 | New Zealand | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 12:00 | | (19–10) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 26 January 2020 15:00 | Hong Kong | 23–17 | Australia | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Jaimaz, Al-Mulla (KUW) |
| 26 January 2020 15:00 | | (11–9) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Jaimaz, Al-Mulla (KUW) |
| 26 January 2020 17:00 | New Zealand | 28–41 | China | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA) |
| 26 January 2020 17:00 | | (15–18) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA) |

## Main round
### Group 1

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 86 | 64 | +22 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 2 | Bahrain | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 60 | +10 | 4 | Semifinals |
| 3 | United Arab Emirates | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 60 | 80 | −20 | 2 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Saudi Arabia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 59 | 71 | −12 | 0 | Seventh place game |
| 20 January 2020 14:00 | United Arab Emirates | 18–29 | Bahrain | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 14:00 | | (9–15) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 16:00 | Saudi Arabia | 22–30 | Japan | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 16:00 | | (10–16) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 14:00 | Bahrain | 23–25 | Japan | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 14:00 | | (11–10) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 16:00 | United Arab Emirates | 23–20 | Saudi Arabia | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 16:00 | | (14–10) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 23 January 2020 14:00 | Japan | 31–19 | United Arab Emirates | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 23 January 2020 14:00 | | (18–13) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 23 January 2020 16:00 | Bahrain | 18–17 | Saudi Arabia | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |
| 23 January 2020 16:00 | | (10–6) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |

### Group 2

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Qatar | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 94 | 75 | +19 | 6 | Semifinals |
| 2 | South Korea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 85 | 85 | 0 | 3 | Semifinals |
| 3 | Iran | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 77 | 79 | −2 | 3 | Fifth place game |
| 4 | Kuwait (H) | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 74 | 91 | −17 | 0 | Seventh place game |
* 1 2 Iran 24–24 South Korea
| 20 January 2020 18:00 | South Korea | 27–34 | Qatar | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 20 January 2020 18:00 | Park J., Park S. 5 | (13–18) | Frankis, Sami 6 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 20 January 2020 18:00 | 1× 1× | Report | 1× 7× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR) |
| 20 January 2020 20:00 | Kuwait | 24–28 | Iran | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 20 January 2020 20:00 | | (13–13) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 18:00 | Iran | 25–31 | Qatar | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 18:00 | | (13–11) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 21 January 2020 20:00 | Kuwait | 27–34 | South Korea | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 21 January 2020 20:00 | Al-Baloul, M. Al-Gharaballi 5 | (12–17) | Kim D. 7 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 21 January 2020 20:00 | 1× 3× | Report | 2× 3× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 23 January 2020 18:00 | Iran | 24–24 | South Korea | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 23 January 2020 18:00 | Heidarpour 7 | (14–11) | Ha 11 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 23 January 2020 18:00 | 1× 4× 1× | Report | 1× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Lah, Sok (SLO) |
| 23 January 2020 20:00 | Qatar | 29–23 | Kuwait | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |
| 23 January 2020 20:00 | | (13–14) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Koo, Lee (KOR) |

## Final round
### Bracket

| Semi-finals | Semi-finals | Final | Final |
| 25 January | 25 January |
| Japan | 32 |
| Japan | 32 | 27 January | 27 January |
| South Korea (ET) | 34 | 27 January | 27 January |
| South Korea (ET) | 34 | South Korea | 21 |
| 25 January | 25 January | | South Korea | 21 |
| 25 January | 25 January | Qatar | 33 |
| Qatar | 28 | Qatar | 33 |
| Bahrain | 24 | | |
| Bahrain | 24 | Third place | Third place |
| | | 27 January | 27 January |
| | | Japan | 27 |
| | | Bahrain | 26 |

### Semifinals

| 25 January 2020 18:00 | Japan | 32–34 (ET) | South Korea | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |
| 25 January 2020 18:00 | Watanabe 6 | (19–16) | Kim J. 9 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |
| 25 January 2020 18:00 | 2× 7× | Report | 1× 5× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |
| Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |||
| 25 January 2020 20:00 | Qatar | 28–24 | Bahrain | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 20:00 | | (14–11) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |

### Seventh place game

| 25 January 2020 14:00 | Saudi Arabia | 24–19 | Kuwait | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 14:00 | | (12–7) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |

### Fifth place game

| 25 January 2020 16:00 | United Arab Emirates | 29–26 | Iran | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |
| 25 January 2020 16:00 | | (13–14) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City |

### Third place game

| 27 January 2020 16:30 | Japan | 27–26 | Bahrain | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |
| 27 January 2020 16:30 | | (14–15) | | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kleven, Jørum (NOR) |

### Final

| 27 January 2020 18:30 | South Korea | 21–33 | Qatar | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kolahdouzan, Mousavian (IRI) |
| 27 January 2020 18:30 | Park S. 5 | (11–14) | Frankis 8 | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kolahdouzan, Mousavian (IRI) |
| 27 January 2020 18:30 | 1× 1× | Report | 1× 6× | Shaikh Saad Al-Abdullah Sports Hall Complex, Kuwait City Referees: Kolahdouzan, Mousavian (IRI) |

## Final ranking

| Rank | Team |
| | Qatar |
| | South Korea |
| | Japan |
| 4 | Bahrain |
| 5 | United Arab Emirates |
| 6 | Iran |
| 7 | Saudi Arabia |
| 8 | Kuwait |
| 9 | Iraq |
| 10 | Hong Kong |
| 11 | China |
| 12 | Australia |
| 13 | New Zealand |
* Qualified for the 2021 World Championship

## Awards

The all-star team and MVP were announced on 30 January 2020.
| Position | Player |
| Goalkeeper | Mohamed Ali (BHR) |
| Right wing | Saleh Ali (KUW) |
| Right back | Ha Tae-hyun (KOR) |
| Centre back | Ahmed Al-Maqabi (BHR) |
| Left back | Frankis Carol (QAT) |
| Left wing | Remi Anri Doi (JPN) |
| Pivot | Youssef Benali (QAT) |
| Most Valuable Player | Yuto Agarie (JPN) |

## Top goalscorers

| Rank | Name | Goals |
| 1 | Luke Ireland | 40 |
| 2 | Hussein Ali Hussein | 39 |
| 3 | Frankis Carol | 38 |
| 4 | Sun Fangwei | 35 |
| 4 | Wang Xiaofeng | 35 |
| 6 | Kim Jin-young | 33 |
| 7 | Timothy Anderson | 32 |
| 7 | Caleb Gahan | 32 |
| 9 | Tatsuki Yoshino | 30 |
| 9 | Rafael Capote | 30 |
Source: AHF