The national handball teams of South Korea and Japan will face off after a two-year hiatus with the resumption of their annual competitions.

The Korea Handball Federation and the Japan Handball Association announced on Friday that the first round of the men’s and women’s matches will be held in Nagoya on Sunday, followed by the second in Incheon on Wednesday.

The two neighbors began holding regular competitions of their men’s and women’s handball teams every year in 2008, but were forced to suspend the event for the past two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The upcoming competitions are the first official matches for the Korean teams since both the men’s and women’s sides have taken on a foreign coach.

In the 2021 World Men's Handball Championship, Japan ranked 19th and South Korea 31st.

The women finished 14th in their championship that same year, behind eleventh-placed Japan, who Team Korea beat 27-24 in the Olympics.