2026 Asian Men's Handball Championship

2026 Asian Men's Handball Championship
Tournament details
Host country	Kuwait
Venues	2
Dates	15–29 January
Teams	15 (from 2 confederations)
Final positions
Champions	Bahrain (1st title)
Runners-up	Qatar
Third place	Kuwait
Fourth place	Japan
Tournament statistics
Matches played	50
Goals scored	2,809 (56.18 per match)
Attendance	38,560 (771 per match)
Top scorers	Saif Al-Adwani; (54 goals)
Awards
Best player	Hasan Safar

The 2026 Asian Men's Handball Championship was the 22nd edition of the Asian Men's Handball Championship, the biennial international men's handball championship of Asia and Oceania organized by AHF. The tournament was held from 15 to 29 January 2026 in Sabah Al-Salem, Kuwait.^[1]

It was the fourth time in history that the championship was organised by the Kuwait Handball Association.

It also acted as a qualification tournament for the 2027 World Men's Handball Championship in Germany, with top four teams from the championship directly qualifying for the event. If Australia would have finished inside the top five, they would have qualified as well, as the representative of Oceania.

Qatar were the six time defending champions, recently beating Japan 30–24 in the 2024 final in Isa Town. Bahrain won their first title with a win over Qatar in the final.^[2]

Host selection

Kuwait was given the hosting rights on 24 February 2025.^[3] It will be the fourth time in history that the championship will be organised by the Kuwait Handball Association after 1977, 1995, and 2020.

Teams

Team	Appearance(s)					Previous best performance^[A]
Team	Total	First	Last	Streak	2024	Previous best performance^[A]
Australia	4th	2018	2022	1	N/A	Eleventh place (2018)
Bahrain	19th	1977	2024	13	3rd	Runners-up (2010, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2022)
China	17th	1977		2	10th	Runners-up (1979, 2000)
Hong Kong	6th	1983		4	13th	Eighth place (1983)
India	6th	1979		3	16th	Fifth place (1979)
Iran	17th	1989		14	6th	Third place (2014)
Iraq	7th	1977		4	8th	Fifth place (1977)
Japan	21st	1977		2	2nd	Champions (1977, 1979)
Jordan	8th	1983	2022	1	N/A	Seventh place (1983, 2006)
Kuwait (H)	18th	1977	2024	4	4th	Champions (1995, 2002, 2004, 2006)
Oman	7th	2004		3	12th	Eighth place (2014, 2016, 2018)
Qatar	18th	1983		13	1st	Champions (2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2024)
Saudi Arabia	17th	1977		10	9th	Third place (2002, 2008, 2012, 2022)
South Korea	19th	1977		11	5th	Champions (1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1993, 2000, 2008, 2010, 2012)
United Arab Emirates	15th	1977		11	7th	Fourth place (2014)

Venue

The venue was the Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls Complex in Sabah Al-Salem.

Sabah Al-Salem		Sabah Al-Salem
		Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls Complex
		Capacity: TBD

Draw

The draw was held at 17:30 AST on 15 October 2025 at the Conference Room of the Safir Fintas Kuwait Hotel, Fintās, Kuwait.^[4]^[5] The draw started with, in order, pots 4, 3, 2 and 1 being drawn, with each team selected then allocated into the first available group alphabetically.

Seeding

The seeding was based on the results of the previous edition.

Pot 1	Pot 2	Pot 3	Pot 4
Qatar Japan Bahrain Kuwait	South Korea Iran United Arab Emirates Iraq	Saudi Arabia China Oman Hong Kong	India Australia Jordan

Draw results

Group A
Pos	Team
A1	Qatar
A2	South Korea
A3	Oman

Group B
Pos	Team
B1	Bahrain
B2	Iraq
B3	China
B4	Jordan

Group C
Pos	Team
C1	Kuwait (H)
C2	United Arab Emirates
C3	Hong Kong
C4	India

Group D
Pos	Team
D1	Japan
D2	Iran
D3	Saudi Arabia
D4	Australia

Schedule

Schedule
Round	Matchday	Date
Preliminary round	Matchday 1	15–16 January 2026
	Matchday 2	17–18 January 2026
	Matchday 3	19–20 January 2026
Main round and Ranking groups	Matchday 4	22 January 2026
	Matchday 5	23 January 2026
	Matchday 6	25 January 2026
Ranking games	All games	27 January 2026
Knockout stage	Semi-finals	27 January 2026
Knockout stage	Final	29 January 2026

Preliminary round

All times are local (UTC+3).

Tiebreakers

In the group stage, teams are ranked according to points (2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, 0 points for a loss). After completion of the group stage, if two or more teams have the same number of points, the ranking will be determined as follows:

Highest number of points in matches between the teams directly involved;
Superior goal difference in matches between the teams directly involved;
Highest number of goals scored in matches between the teams directly involved;
Superior goal difference in all matches of the group;
Highest number of plus goals in all matches of the group;

If the ranking of one of these teams is determined, the above criteria are consecutively followed until the ranking of all teams is determined. If no ranking can be determined, a decision shall be obtained by AHF through drawing of lots.

Group A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	South Korea	2	2	0	61	55	+6	4	Group I
2	Qatar	2	1	1	58	47	+11	2	Group II
3	Oman	2	0	2	39	56	−17	0	Group III

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

16 January 2026 14:00	Oman	15–27	Qatar	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR)
	Al-Dughaishi 5	(6–12)	Madadi 7
	5× 2×	Report	2×

18 January 2026 16:00	South Korea	29–24	Oman	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Al-Naseem, Al-Enezi (KUW)
	Kim R., Kim T. 6	(15–10)	Al-Dughaishi, T. Al-Hadidi 6
	3× 1×	Report	4×

20 January 2026 18:00	Qatar	31–32	South Korea	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Gheisarian, Gheisarian (IRI)
	Madadi 5	(16–14)	Jang 7
	1× 4×	Report	5×

Group B

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Bahrain	3	3	0	106	68	+38	6	Group II
2	Iraq	3	2	1	71	77	−6	4	Group I
3	China	3	1	2	80	95	−15	2	Group IV
4	Jordan	3	0	3	70	87	−17	0	Group III

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

16 January 2026 16:00	Jordan	21–32	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB)
	Abu Hasan 7	(10–17)	Al-Showaikh 6
	3×	Report	2×

16 January 2026 18:00	China	22–27	Iraq	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 300 Referees: Al-Enezi, Al-Naseem (KUW)
	Sun, Xie 5	(12–14)	Al-Moulidi 7
	2×	Report	1× 6×

18 January 2026 14:00	Jordan	21–26	Iraq	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 150 Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB)
	Abu Hasan, Al-Otaibi 5	(10–14)	B. Hammoodi 12
	3×	Report	1×

18 January 2026 18:00	China	29–40	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA)
	Song 5	(10–20)	Khamis 8
	5×	Report	3×

20 January 2026 14:00	Jordan	28–29	China	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Furukawa, Murata (JPN)
	Abu Hasan 10	(17–17)	Song 7
	1× 9× 1×	Report	4×

20 January 2026 16:00	Iraq	18–34	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA)
	Al-Moulidi 7	(8–15)	Khamis 8
	1× 6× 1×	Report	2×

Group C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Kuwait (H)	3	3	0	112	59	+53	6	Group I
2	United Arab Emirates	3	2	1	101	69	+32	4	Group II
3	Hong Kong	3	1	2	82	105	−23	2	Group III
4	India	3	0	3	63	125	−62	0	Group IV

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

15 January 2026 14:00	Hong Kong	21–36	United Arab Emirates	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Ali, Al-Aradi (BHR)
	Chan T. 7	(12–18)	Radwan 8
	2×	Report	1×

15 January 2026 18:15	India	12–45	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Furukawa, Murata (JPN)
	Mandeep 5	(6–25)	S. Al-Adwani 8
	1×	Report	1×

17 January 2026 16:00	India	21–43	United Arab Emirates	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Al-Suqufi, Al-Saqer (KSA)
	Valiyaveettil 6	(10–21)	T. Al-Maazmi 9
	4× 1×	Report	1× 3×

17 January 2026 18:00	Hong Kong	25–39	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 1,800 Referees: Gheisarian, Gheisarian (IRI)
	Lee S. 6	(12–23)	Al-Harbi, Dashti 7
	1× 2×	Report	1× 3×

19 January 2026 16:00	India	30–36	Hong Kong	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 300 Referees: Ali, Al-Aradi (BHR)
	Manjeet 9	(10–16)	Lee S. 13
	1× 2×	Report	1× 4×

19 January 2026 18:00	United Arab Emirates	22–27	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Radwan 6	(11–13)	S. Al-Adwani 8
	4× 1×	Report	2×

Group D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Saudi Arabia	3	3	0	93	70	+23	6	Group II
2	Japan	3	2	1	99	79	+20	4	Group I
3	Iran	3	1	2	90	67	+23	2	Group IV
4	Australia	3	0	3	60	126	−66	0	Group IV

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

15 January 2026 16:00	Australia	23–45	Japan	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Al-Zayyat, Awwad (JOR)
	Clowes 9	(13–22)	Nakata 7
	3×	Report	2×

15 January 2026 20:15	Saudi Arabia	24–22	Iran	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Al-Mohsin 9	(15–10)	Norouzinejad 9
	1× 2×	Report	1× 3× 1×

17 January 2026 14:00	Australia	13–39	Iran	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 300 Referees: Cha, Pak (KOR)
	Gahan 7	(5–21)	Rahnama 10
	1×	Report	3×

17 January 2026 20:00	Saudi Arabia	27–24	Japan	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Mo. Al-Salem 8	(12–9)	Yoshino 7
	1× 4×	Report	1× 4× 1×

19 January 2026 14:00	Australia	24–42	Saudi Arabia	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Al-Zayyat, Awwad (JOR)
	four players 4	(8–23)	Al-Saffar 12
		Report	1× 3×

19 January 2026 20:00	Iran	29–30	Japan	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 600 Referees: Mohamed Ali, Marhoon (BHR)
	Oraei 10	(15–13)	Enomoto 8
	6×	Report	1× 1×

Martyr Fahad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Cup

Group III

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Hong Kong	2	1	1	0	55	51	+4	3	Ninth place game
2	Jordan	2	1	0	1	52	49	+3	2	Eleventh place game
3	Oman	2	0	1	1	54	61	−7	1	13th place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

22 January 2026 12:00	Jordan	31–24	Oman	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Cha, Pak (KOR)
	Abu Hasan 12	(16–10)	A. Al-Hadidi 8
	5×	Report	2×

23 January 2026 14:00	Hong Kong	25–21	Jordan	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Al-Suqufi, Al-Saqer (KSA)
	Lee S 8	(11–13)	Abu Hasan 9
	2×	Report	7× 1×

25 January 2026 12:00	Oman	30–30	Hong Kong	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR)
	S. Al-Hasani 7	(13–16)	Lin
	3× 1×	Report	1× 4×

Group IV

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	China	3	3	0	101	62	+39	6	Ninth place game
2	Iran	3	2	1	99	66	+33	4	Eleventh place game
3	Australia	3	1	2	75	93	−18	2	13th place game
4	India	3	0	3	60	114	−54	0

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.

22 January 2026 14:30	India	16–39	Iran	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Al-Suqufi, Al-Saqer (KSA)
	H. Singh 6	(9–20)	Adelkhani 7
	1×	Report	3×

22 January 2026 17:00	Australia	19–32	China	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 100 Referees: Al-Zayyat, Awwad (JOR)
	Anderson 8	(9–17)	Li S., Song 8
	3×	Report	4×

23 January 2026 16:30	Australia	17–37	Iran	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Ali, Al-Aradi (BHR)
	Anderson, Verdier 5	(6–14)	Rahnama 8
	3×	Report	1× 3×

23 January 2026 19:00	India	20–36	China	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 30 Referees: Furukawa, Murata (JPN)
	Shubham 7	(9–19)	Li S. 6
	1×	Report	2×

25 January 2026 14:30	India	24–39	Australia	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA)
	Ankit 9	(13–17)	Anderson 9
	2× 1×	Report	4×

25 January 2026 17:00	China	33–23	Iran	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 50 Referees: Al-Zayyat, Awwad (JOR)
	Fangwei 8	(19–13)	Heidarian 8
	4×	Report	1× 4×

13th place game

27 January 2026 12:00	Oman	34–28	Australia	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya Attendance: 30 Referees: Ahmad, Amir (IRI)
	T. Al-Hadidi 11	(19–18)	Anderson 7
	6×	Report	2× 1×

Eleventh place game

27 January 2026 14:00	Jordan	10–0	Iran	Kuwait Handball Association Hall, Da'iya
		Report

Ninth place game

29 January 2026 14:00	Hong Kong	25–34	China	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR)
	Al-Moulidi 8	(13–15)	T. Al-Maazmi 10
	2×	Report	3×

Main round

Group I

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Japan	3	2	1	0	81	79	+2	5	Semifinals
2	Kuwait (H)	3	2	0	1	87	71	+16	4	Semifinals
3	South Korea	3	1	1	1	85	84	+1	3	Fifth place game
4	Iraq	3	0	0	3	75	94	−19	0	Seventh place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

22 January 2026 12:00	South Korea	23–23	Japan	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 150 Referees: Al-Wahibi, Al-Shahi (OMA)
	Kim Jin-y. 8	(11–10)	three players 4
	4×	Report	1× 2×

22 January 2026 18:00	Iraq	16–29	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 2,500 Referees: Al-Mawt, Marhoon (BHR)
	Al-Moulidi 4	(6–14)	S. Al-Adwani 8
	1× 5×	Report	2×

23 January 2026 18:00	Japan	28–27	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 3,500 Referees: Gheisarian, Gheisarian (IRI)
	Yoshino 8	(15–14)	S. Al-Adwani 8
	1× 2× 1×	Report	1× 6×

23 January 2026 20:00	South Korea	35–30	Iraq	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 200 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Kim Jin-y. 9	(14–16)	Hafedh, B. Hammoodi 8
	1×	Report	1× 3× 1×

25 January 2026 12:00	Iraq	29–30	Japan	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Ali, Al-Aradi (BHR)
	B. Hammoodi 8	(16–19)	Watanabe 7
	1× 1×	Report	4×

25 January 2026 18:00	South Korea	27–31	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Kim Jin-y. 9	(15–14)	S. Ali 7
	4×	Report	3×

Group II

Pos	Team	Pld	W	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Qualification
1	Qatar	3	2	1	85	76	+9	4^[a]	Semifinals
2	Bahrain	3	2	1	84	71	+13	4^[a]	Semifinals
3	Saudi Arabia	3	2	1	81	72	+9	4^[a]	Fifth place game
4	United Arab Emirates	3	0	3	59	90	−31	0	Seventh place game

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
Notes:

^ ^a ^b ^c Qatar 2 Pts, +4 GD; Bahrain 2 Pts, +1 GD; Saudi Arabia 2 Pts, –5 GD.

22 January 2026 14:00	United Arab Emirates	20–32	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 150 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Rashed 5	(10–12)	Khamis, Habib Naser 7
	1× 1× 1×	Report	2×

22 January 2026 16:00	Saudi Arabia	25–32	Qatar	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB)
	Al-Abbas 10	(14–14)	Madadi 8
	2×	Report	4×

23 January 2026 14:00	Qatar	28–31	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Carol 11	(12–12)	Al-Sayyad 11
	2× 3× 1×	Report	4×

23 January 2026 16:00	Saudi Arabia	33–19	United Arab Emirates	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Al-Naseem, Al-Enezi (KUW)
	Mo. Al-Salem 10	(15–11)	Radwan 8
	3×	Report	1× 5×

25 January 2026 14:00	Qatar	25–20	United Arab Emirates	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Pak, Cha (KOR)
	Hamam 8	(14–8)	T. Al-Maazmi, Afify 4
	2×	Report	1× 3×

25 January 2026 16:00	Bahrain	21–23	Saudi Arabia	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 500 Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB)
	Al-Sayyad 6	(11–10)	Al-Abbas 7
	1× 3×	Report	1× 2× 2×

Final round

Bracket

Semi-finals		Final

27 January

Japan	25
		29 January
Bahrain	35
		Bahrain (ET)	29
27 January
		Qatar	26
Qatar (ET)	27

Kuwait	26
		Third place

		29 January

		Japan	32

		Kuwait	33

Semifinals

27 January 2026 16:00	Japan	25–35	Bahrain	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 2,000 Referees: Cheng, Zhou (CHN)
	Watanabe 7	(14–17)	Khamis 10
		Report	1× 1×

27 January 2026 18:30	Qatar	27–26 (ET)	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 4,500 Referees: Sekulić, Jovandić (SRB)
	Madadi 9	(8–13)	S. Ali 7
	2× 3×	Report	1× 4× 1×
	FT: 22–22 ET: 5–4

Seventh place game

27 January 2026 12:00	Iraq	34–34	United Arab Emirates	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 100 Referees: Marhoon, Al-Mawt (BHR)
	Al-Moulidi 8	(19–17)	T. Al-Maazmi 10
	2×	Report	3×
	FT: 34–34 Pen: 4–2

Fifth place game

27 January 2026 14:00	South Korea	32–31	Saudi Arabia	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 300 Referees: Al-Naseem, Al-Enezi (KUW)
	Kim T. 6	(16–16)	Mo. Al-Salem 9
	1×	Report	1× 6×

Third place game

29 January 2026 16:00	Japan	32–33	Kuwait	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 1,500 Referees: Al-Shahi, Al-Wahibi (OMA)
	Fujisaka 6	(16–19)	S. Al-Adwani 10
	3×	Report	1×

Final

29 January 2026 18:00	Bahrain	29–26 (ET)	Qatar	Sheikh Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah Covered Halls, Sabah Al-Salem Attendance: 3,000 Referees: Ismoilov, Ismoilov (UZB)
	Al-Sayyad, Habib Naser 7	(14–11)	Madadi 6
	3×	Report	4×
	FT: 24–24 ET: 5–2

Final ranking

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts	Final result
1	Bahrain	8	7	0	1	254	190	+64	14	Champions and qualified for 2027 World Championship
2	Qatar	7	4	0	3	196	178	+18	8	Runners-up and qualified for 2027 World Championship
3	Kuwait (H)	8	6	0	2	258	189	+69	12	Third place and qualified for 2027 World Championship
4	Japan	8	4	1	3	237	226	+11	9	Fourth place and qualified for 2027 World Championship

5	South Korea	6	4	1	1	178	170	+8	9	Fifth place game
6	Saudi Arabia	7	5	0	2	205	174	+31	10	Fifth place game

7	Iraq	7	3	0	4	184	207	−23	6	Seventh place game
8	United Arab Emirates	7	2	0	5	196	197	−1	4	Seventh place game

9	China	7	5	0	2	215	182	+33	10	Ninth place game
10	Hong Kong	6	2	1	3	162	190	−28	5	Ninth place game

11	Jordan	6	2	0	4	132	136	−4	4	Eleventh place game
12	Iran	7	3	0	4	189	143	+46	6	Eleventh place game

13	Oman	5	1	1	3	127	145	−18	3	Thirteenth place game
14	Australia	7	1	0	6	163	253	−90	2	Thirteenth place game

15	India	6	0	0	6	123	239	−116	0	Fifteenth place

Source: IHF
Rules for classification: 1) points; 2) head-to-head points; 3) head-to-head goal difference; 4) head-to-head number of goals scored; 5) goal difference.
(H) Hosts

Statistics and awards

Top goalscorers

Rank	Name	Goals^[6]	Shots	%
1	Saif Al-Adwani	54	87	62
2	Ahmad Madadi	44	58	76
3	Khaled Abu Hasan	43	65	66
3	Jasim Khamis	43	57	75
5	Kim Jin-young	40	59	68
5	Mojtaba Al-Salem	40	75	63
7	Baderaldeen Hammoodi	39	49	80
7	Mohamed Habib Naser	39	66	59
9	Ghassen Al-Moulidi	38	77	49
10	Timothy Anderson	36	66	55
10	Lee Siu Chung	36	59	61

Top goalkeepers

Rank	Name	%	Saves^[7]	Shots
1	Omidreza Robat	56	35	63
2	Mohammad Buyabes	50	12	24
3	Mohammad Siavoshi	43	41	95
4	Saeid Barkhordari	41	32	79
5	Hesham Isa	37	32	86
6	Hasan Safar	36	71	196
7	Zhao Kai	34	38	112
	Mohammad Al-Taher		43	127
	Ali Al-Saffar		27	80
	Hassan Al-Turaik		37	110

All-star team

Position	Player
Most valuable player	Hasan Safar
Goalkeeper	Ahmed Abdelrahem
Right wing	Salman Al-Showaikh
Right back	Jin Watanabe
Centre back	Mohamed Habib Naser
Left back	Saif Al-Adwani
Left wing	Ahmad Madadi
Pivot	Soya Ichihara

Notes

^ Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

References

^ "Kuwait to host 2026 handball AFC Asian Cup". Kuwait Times. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
^ "Bahrain seal historic win against Qatar to be crowned Asian champions". ihf.info. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.
^ "الكويت تستضيف كأس آسيا لكرة اليد 2026". Asharq Al-Awsat. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2026.
^ "Draw for 22nd Asian Men's Handball Championship – Kuwait 2026". AHF. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
^ "Draw Results of 22nd Asian Men's Handball Championship – Kuwait 2026". AHF. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.
^ "Top goalscorers" (PDF). ihf.info. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.
^ "Top goalkeepers" (PDF). ihf.info. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.

External links

[table_hth_QAT0.72343768119972-7] Qatar 2 Pts, +4 GD; Bahrain 2 Pts, +1 GD; Saudi Arabia 2 Pts, –5 GD.

[4] Bold text indicates they hosted that edition.

[1] "Kuwait to host 2026 handball AFC Asian Cup". Kuwait Times. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.

[2] "Bahrain seal historic win against Qatar to be crowned Asian champions". ihf.info. 30 January 2026. Retrieved 30 January 2026.

[3] "الكويت تستضيف كأس آسيا لكرة اليد 2026". Asharq Al-Awsat. 24 February 2025. Retrieved 19 January 2026.

[5] "Draw for 22nd Asian Men's Handball Championship – Kuwait 2026". AHF. 9 October 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.

[6] "Draw Results of 22nd Asian Men's Handball Championship – Kuwait 2026". AHF. 16 October 2025. Retrieved 26 November 2025.

[8] "Top goalscorers" (PDF). ihf.info. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.

[9] "Top goalkeepers" (PDF). ihf.info. 29 January 2026. Retrieved 29 January 2026.

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