South Korea Faces Qatar in Asian Games Men's Handball Semifinals

NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 27 (Yonhap) -- As South Korea sits within two wins of grabbing its first Asiad gold in men's handball in 16 years, the mighty Qatar stands in the way.

The two teams will square off in the semifinals of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Entrio in Inazawa, just northwest of the main host city of Nagoya. Whereas South Korea is seeking to end a long title drought, Qatar is going for its fourth consecutive gold medal.

It would be the second-longest winning streak in men's handball, with South Korea having reeled off five straight gold medals from 1986 to 2002.

South Korea head coach Cho Young-shin, back in charge after leading the team to its last gold medal in 2010, said Sunday this year's squad is getting better as the tournament has progressed.

"We have accomplished our first goal of reaching at least the semifinals here because we were able to hold our ground against tough Middle Eastern teams," Cho said. "We have grown into a really tight unit. We have done some systematic work to improve our strength and endurance."

In the group stage, South Korea fell to Bahrain, another Middle East powerhouse, 30-21, but defeated Kuwait 26-23 and played Iran to a 26-26 tie.

Cho said after the victory over Kuwait in the first game, his players struggled against Iran because they put too much pressure on themselves.

Up against Qatar, Cho said the South Korean players must rely on their quick transition and play smothering defense, which he believes will require contributions from all 16 players on the squad.

"Objectively, Qatar is a level above us," Cho said. "But we did beat them at the Asian championships in January this year. We will go in there with confidence and try to battle our way through the game."

He said it will take more than just ordinary defense to contain Qatar.

"Their players can score from long distance. We can't beat them playing them like any other team," Cho added. "We have to play some tight defense at one end and try to stretch their defense when we have the ball."