The handball tournament in the Asian Games in now underway. As I anticipated earlier, there were several 'mismatches' between experienced teams and weaker opponents but also a couple of closer games.

In Group A, Qatar defeated Japan by 33-27, after 17-17 at half-time. By contrast, Saudia Arabia crushed Mongolia by 69-17and China had an easy time defeating India by 41-21.

In Group B. Bahrain showed good form in preparation for the World Championship, by beating the long-standing rival Kuwait by 27-25 after a strong second half. Rep. of Korea had little difficulty in beating Hong Kong by a clear margin, 52-13. Iran had a bye on the first day in this group.

One of our friendly readers in Korea also helped us with the information that Kazakhstan has been added as a last-minute entry in Women's Group A. Yes, it did seem a bit surprising that the Kazakh women would not participate, considering their strength in recent years.

Asian Games Official Website (Handball Schedule and Results): http://www.gz2010.cn/info/ENG_ENG/ZZ/ZZS103A_HB@@@@@@@@@@@@@@@ENG.html