New Zealand and South Korea will hope to secure a Paralympic berth ©YouTube

New Zealand and South Korea are set for a head-to-head battle for the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic berth at the International Wheelchair Rugby Federation (IWRF) Asia-Oceania Championships.

Japan and Australia are already assured of competing at next year’s Games.

Japan qualified as the Paralympic host nation and Australia secured their spot at last year's IWRF World Championship in Sydney.

It has left New Zealand, South Korea and Thailand battling for the sole spot available at the tournament in Gangneung.

New Zealand suffered two defeats on the opening day, but responded with a 78-8 victory over Thailand.

South Korea, who overcame Thailand yesterday, suffered two straight defeats on the second day of action.

They were beaten 64-34 by world champions Japan, before losing 64-41 to Australia.

The results give New Zealand and South Korea an identical record prior to their round robin match tomorrow.

New Zealand earned their first victory of the tournament ©Getty Images
New Zealand earned their first victory of the tournament ©Getty Images

Thailand’s hopes of a third place finish appear unlikely after another heavy defeat, a 59-25 reverse at the hands of Japan.

Japan and Australia have recorded three consecutive victories ahead of their meeting tomorrow.

The winner will advance automatically to the gold medal match, while the loser will face the third-place team in a play-off.

The play-off winner will progress to the final, while the beaten team will play a bronze medal match against the victor in the fourth to fifth place play-off.