South Korea's men's handball team suffered a tough loss against Japan, ending their hopes of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

The men's team, led by head coach Hollando Freitas (PORT), suffered a heartbreaking 23-34 loss to Japan in the semifinals of the Men's Handball Asian Qualifier for the Paris Olympic Games on Sunday (July 27) in Doha, Qatar.

With the loss, South Korea failed to qualify for the Olympic Games for the third consecutive time. The last time men's handball qualified for the Olympic Games was in London 2012.

The Koreans faced Japan, a team that was considered an underdog, and suffered a shocking 11-goal loss. Prior to the game, South Korea had a commanding 23-2-3 record against Japan in the official series, and were unbeaten in four games (three wins and a draw), making the loss even more painful.

South Korea's women's handball team lost 19-29 to Japan in the final of the Hangzhou 2022 Asian Games to take home the silver medal, and now the men's team has been upset by Japan.

South Korea fell behind early in the day, trailing by six points at the half. They fought back in the second half, but the scoreline widened and they fell short.

Lee Hyun-sik (SK) scored the most goals, seven, and Cho Tae-hoon (Doosan) contributed five, but it wasn't enough to prevent the loss.

Japan, who beat South Korea, will play Bahrain in the final on April 28. The winner will advance directly to the Paris Olympics, while the loser will have to play the final qualifier in March next year. 스포츠토토맨