TOKYO -- South Korea has secured a place in the men's handball tournament of the Beijing Olympic Games as it defeated Japan 28-25 on Wednesday in a zone qualification replay.
The South Korean men's handball team and officials celebrate after defeating Japan at the men's Asian Olympic qualification handball tournament for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games in Tokyo January 30, 2008. [Agencies] |
The Asian Olympic qualifier was initially held in September last year but the International Handball Federation ordered replay with match-fixing worries in December.
Referees from Jordan and Iran were brought in at the last minute by the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) to replace German referees and their disputed calls helped Kuwait win the men's tournament and Kazakhstan the women's, qualifying them for the 2008 Games in Beijing.
The AHF, headed by Kuwaiti prince Sheikh Ahmed Al-Fahad Al-Sabah, denied match fixing and said it will punish countries taking part in the current replays.
The IHF, however, declared in a recent letter to the AHF that it is the "only body endorsing the results of the continental qualifying tournaments for Olympic Games and World Championships."
Only Japan and South Korea took part in the replays. South Korea's women's team defeated Japan on Tuesday to book a place in the Beijing Olympics.
