(LEAD) (Asiad) S. Korea beats China to advance to men's handball semifinals
NAGOYA, Japan, Sept. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea got past China to advance to the semifinals in men's handball at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games on Saturday, sitting two victories away from its first gold in 16 years.
Kim Rak-chan and Park Se-ung led South Korea with six goals each, while two others contributed five goals apiece at Kasugai City Gymnasium in Kasugai, just northeast of the main host city, Nagoya.
In Monday's semifinals, South Korea will take on the three-time defending champion Qatar, which beat Iran 31-25 in the quarterfinals Saturday evening. South Korea lost to Qatar in the final in 2014 and in the semifinals in 2018. South Korea did not reach the medal round in 2023.
Both the bronze medal match and the gold medal contest will be Tuesday.
South Korea trailed 5-4 about six minutes into the game before scoring the next four goals to grab an 8-5 lead. South Korea's tight defense held China scoreless over a stretch of 6 1/2 minutes.
South Korea did not let China get within three goals for the remainder of the first half and took a 16-12 lead into the break.
South Korea stayed out in front the rest of the way. China made it a 22-19 game midway through the second half, but South Korea killed any hopes of a comeback by opening up a 28-22 lead with less than five minutes left.
Kim Rak-chan scored two goals in a 13-second span late in the contest to seal the victory.
Kim Jin-ho of South Korea (R) is in action against Kazakhstan during the teams' Group B match in men's handball at Kasugai City Gymnasium in Kasugai, Japan, on Sept. 25, 2026, in this photo provided by the organizing committee of the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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