Handball at Asian Games 2026: schedule, groups, venues and broadcast details
Handball at the 2026 Asian Games will be held in Aichi-Nagoya, Japan, from September 19 to 29 as part of the 20th edition of the Games. Matches are scheduled at Kasugai City General Gymnasium and Toyoda Gosei Memorial Gymnasium, with live telecasts on Sony Sports Network and streaming available on the Sony Liv app and website.
The 20th Asian Games return to Japan after a 32-year hiatus and will feature 43 sports across 71 disciplines with 469 medal events. Handball includes two medal competitions, one each for men and women. Historically, South Korea have been the most successful nation in the sport, claiming 13 of the 20 medals contested; in nine editions they have won seven gold medals while Japan and China have one gold apiece. Qatar have won the men's gold in the last three editions, and Japan enter 2026 as the defending women's champions.
The men's tournament comprises nine teams split into a four-team group and a five-team group with a round-robin group stage followed by knockout rounds; eight teams will advance to the quarter-finals. Knockout matches for the men's event begin on September 26, with the medal matches scheduled for September 29. Group A features Japan, Qatar, China and Hong Kong, while Group B contains Bahrain, Kuwait, South Korea, Iran and Kazakhstan.
The women's competition consists of seven teams in a single round-robin league, with final placings after the league determining gold, silver and bronze medalists. The seven women's entrants listed are Japan, South Korea, Kazakhstan, China, Hong Kong, Uzbekistan and Vietnam. Both the men's and women's league stages start on September 19.
Recent form and past results noted ahead of the tournament include South Korea's long-standing success and a setback for their men's side at the 2022 Asian Games, when the team failed to reach the top four for the first time. Qatar's run of men's titles and Japan's status as defending women's champions are highlighted among the contenders, and the source states that South Korea will be determined to bounce back and reclaim their place on the podium in the nine-team men's field.
Handball at the Asian Games 2026 runs from September 19 to 29 at the two Nagoya-area venues, with broadcasting covered by Sony Sports Network and streaming via Sony Liv; India have not qualified in either the men's or women's events.