Two recent MVPs of the Korean men's handball league both expressed confidence Wednesday that the national team will be able to beat Middle East powers en route to the gold medal at the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games this month. Lee Yo-seb, the reigning MVP, and Park Kwang-soon, the MVP winner in 2021 and 2025, will be at the forefront of Korea's pursuit of its first Asiad gold in men's handball in 16 years. After Korea's gold in 2010, Qatar went on to win the next three gold medals, while Bahrain has grabbed two silver medals and one bronze medal over that same span. Korea's path to the podium will likely go through those rivals, and Lee, 28, said Korea will have an edge over them this time. "In terms of organization and speed, I think we are better than those Middle East teams," Lee said at the national team's press conference at the Jincheon National Training Center in Jincheon, 85 kilometers south of Seoul. "Of course, they have become faster over the years and so beating them will not be easy for us. But I believe we have put in far more work than those teams. And we have done a great job