We use cookies

By continuing to browse ihf.info, you agree to our terms of use , privacy policy and the use of cookies. For more information, please review our cookie policy.

×

NewsDetails

Date: 6/13/2017
 

The Asian Handball Federation (AHF) have confirmed the seven teams who will compete for honours in the 7th AHF Womens Youth Asian Championship, set to take place in Jakarta, Indonesia from 20-28 August and featuring players aged 18 or under (U18).

 

Alongside hosts Indonesia will be China, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Hong Kong, but all eyes will be on Korea who have won all previous six titles and Japan, who have finished runners-up six times.

 

After its debut in 2005, and running every two years since, the championship was originally a round-robin format, however, in 2015 it moved to two preliminary groups, followed by a knock-out round.

 

The winners of the 2017 edition, along with the silver and bronze medallists, will qualify through to the 2018 IHF Womens Youth World Championship, to be held in Poland.

 

Beginnings

The 1st AHF Womens Youth Asian Championship took place from 26 June to 2 July 2005 at the Nimibutr Stadium in Bangkok, Thailand at the same time as the first Asian Mens Youth (U19) championship.

 

Five womens teams took part with Korea winning the inaugural championship after gaining four wins from four matches, Japan finishing second (three wins, 1 loss), Thailand in third, Chinese Taipei in fourth and India last, losing all four of their games. The top three teams qualified through to the first-ever IHF Womens Youth World Championship, which was held in Canada in 2006.

 

2007 saw the second edition held at the Ban Chao Gymnasium in Chinese Taipei (23-28 July) with Korea again winning all their games to take the title, followed by runners-up Japan and then Chinese Taipei in third. Hong Kong and Qatar, who lost all of four of their games, finished in fourth and fifth respectively. Again, the top three went through to the world championships, this time, held in Slovakia (2008).

 

Korean dominance continues

A place in the world championships in Dominica (2010) was the goal of the teams at the Prince Faisal Court in Amman, Jordan (4-9 July) and it was the same story again, as Korea took the honours, beating Japan into second place, although their tight 33:32 victory was as close as the Japanese had come before. Kazakhstan finished third, Thailand fourth and the hosts fifth.

 

In 2011 Korea and Japan again finished first and second as the South Koreans took their fourth consecutive title, easily beating Japan 27:20 in their final game in Yamaga, Kumamoto, Japan.  At the end of the tournament, which took place from 23-28 September, Kazakhstan finished third for the second championship running with Iran in fourth and Qatar in fifth. The top three qualified through to the IHF Womens Youth World Championship, held the following year (2012) in Montenegro.

 

Expanded competition, same results

Bangkok, Thailand hosted the championship for the second time as the Indoor Stadium Huamark, from 7-15 September 2013, was the venue for an expanded competition featuring an additional two teams with seven teams in total.

 

Despite the changes it was a familiar story as Korea, again, won the title with Japan finishing in the runners-up spot, further away than ever, losing their clash 39:29. Kazakhstan finished third resulting in the same top three, for three years running (2009, 2011, 2013). Uzbekistan finished fourth, China fifth, the hosts Thailand in sixth and Iran last, in seventh. The top three qualified for the 2014 IHF Womens Youth World Championship in FYR Macedonia.

 

Seven teams again competed for the title in the most recent edition, held in New Delhi, India from 27 August to 3 September 2015, but it was the same top two as Korea and Japan, along with China in third, qualified through to the 2016 world championships in Slovakia.

 

The tournament format was updated to feature two preliminary groups for the first time, with the top two qualifying into the semi-finals. Korea eventually beat Japan in the final 27:22, while China beat Kazakhstan 32:25 in the bronze medal match. Uzbekistan finished fifth, Chinese Taipei in sixth, and the hosts in last spot.

 

For more information visit www.asianhandball.org.

 

    Back