Ilsin Girls’ Middle School won the 2026 Handball Korea National Middle and High School Championships girls’ division title by defeating Uijeongbu Girls’ Middle School 16-13. The final match took place on the 3rd at the Gimcheon Indoor Gymnasium in Gimcheon, Gyeongsangbuk-do, following their victory at the 23rd Taebaeksan Flag National Comprehensive Handball Tournament in August.
Road to the Championship Final
The girls’ division featured a competitive 15-team field before narrowing down to the final contenders. In the semifinals, Uijeongbu Girls’ Middle School defeated Manseong Middle School 26-22, while Ilsin Girls’ Middle School advanced past Seyeon Middle School 22-19. Both Manseong and Seyeon finished the tournament sharing the third-place position.
The championship match began with Ilsin taking an early 2-0 advantage driven by individual breakthrough scores from Seong Eun-ha-su. Uijeongbu responded through goals from Kim Seol-hee and Kim Min-chae to stay within striking distance. However, Ilsin maintained their momentum behind a goal from Song Jeong-eun and defensive stops by goalkeeper Park Chae-seul. Seong added another score before halftime, sending Ilsin into the break with an 8-5 lead.
Second-Half Defense and Scoring Seals the Win
Ilsin extended its dominance after halftime as goalkeeper Park Chae-seul blocked multiple consecutive shots to anchor the defense. Seong Eun-ha-su and Shin Hyo-ju capitalized on the defensive stops by scoring in succession to widen the margin. Midway through the second half, a wing goal by Lee Ji-ah, a score from Lee Su-bin, and a fast-break goal by Kim Ju-min stretched Ilsin’s lead to 7 points at 15-8.
Uijeongbu mounted a late offensive push with consecutive goals from Kim Min-chae and Kim Tae-yeon to narrow the score to 16-13. Despite the persistent comeback effort, the deficit proved too large to overcome in the remaining time. Goalkeeper Park secured the final defensive stop to preserve the three-goal victory.
Individual Tournament Honors
Following the conclusion of the tournament, the individual award recipients were announced. Seong Eun-ha-su of Ilsin Girls’ Middle School received the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for her two-way impact and seven-goal performance in the final. Choi Han-na, a goalkeeper of Uijeongbu Girls’ Middle School, earned the Best Player award for her goalkeeping throughout the event.