The South Korean men’s handball team is sending positive signals to Paris with two straight wins.

The South Korean men’s handball team, led by head coach Hollando Freitas (Portugal), defeated Saudi Arabia 29-27 in the second game of Group A of the Asian Qualification Tournament for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games on Monday in Doha, Qatar.

Korea was led by Jang Dong-hyun (SK) with seven goals, Ha Min-ho (Incheon City Corporation) with six and Park Kwang-soon (Hanam City Hall) with five. Goalkeepers Kim Dong-wook (Doosan) and Lee Chang-woo (Korea Gymnastics University) also provided solid support with six and three saves, respectively.

The win was the second in a row for South Korea, who defeated the United Arab Emirates 29-23 the day before, and keeps them at the top of the group with games against Qatar, India, and China remaining.

The 11-nation tournament is divided into two groups. Only the top two teams in each group will advance to the quarterfinals, with the winner earning a spot at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. The runners-up will compete in the International Handball Federation (IHF) Men’s Olympic Qualification Tournament next March.메이저사이트

South Korean men’s handball hasn’t qualified for the Olympic Games since London 2012. The team returned home without a medal from the recently concluded Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games after failing to reach the quarterfinals. South Korea will take on India in the third round at 7 p.m. on Nov. 21.

South Korea held a slim 16-14 lead at halftime. Ha Min-ho and Kang Jeon-gu (Doosan) scored early in the second quarter to make it 5-2, but were denied by the Saudi goalkeeper to make it 9-11. However, a goal by Park Kwang-soon put Korea back in the lead at 13-12.

Korea extended its lead in the second half with back-to-back goals from Kim Jin-young and Ha Min-ho. However, they allowed a counterattack to bring them back to 22-21. However, Kim Dong-wook made a series of saves to secure the victory.