Korea to host men's int'l handball competition

South Korea will host an international men's handball competition in Seoul starting this weekend, with Tunisia and Iran also in action.

The 12th Seoul Cup Handball will begin Sunday at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in the nation's capital with a match between South Korea and Tunisia.

Tunisia and Iran will square off Monday at the same venue. The finale Tuesday will pit South Korea against Iran. The top team after the round-robin play will be declared the champion.

All games will start at 4 p.m.

The Seoul Cup Handball was created in 1993 to commemorate the South Korean women's team's Olympic gold medals in 1988 and 1992. The tournament only featured the women's teams and expanded to include the men's teams in 2015. This year, only the men's event will be contested.

Tunisia is the top-ranked team here at No. 17, followed by South Korea at No. 19 and Iran at No. 50.

Tunisia is the second-best African nation behind only Egypt (No. 15). Tunisia has qualified for every world championship since 1995, reaching the round of 16 in 2013 and 2015. It also qualified for the past two Olympic Games.

Though Iran is behind South Korea in the world rankings, it has outperformed South Korea at the two most recent Asian Men's Handball Championships. Iran was third in 2014 and fifth in 2016, while South Korea finished fifth in 2014 and sixth in 2016.

South Korean head coach Cho Young-shin said the Seoul Cup will be a good test for the team with some new faces.

"By facing Tunisia and Iran, we should get some valuable experience ahead of next year's Asian Championships and the Asian Games," Cho said. (Yonhap)