Handball league all set to give the sport a major boost

Manu Agrawal

Handball lovers and the sport in India will get a boost with the launch of the Premier Handball League (PHL) later this year. The league will have six franchise teams in its inaugural season. Maharashtra Ironmen, Garvit Gujarat, Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan Wolverines have been confirmed as four franchises so far.

Manu Agrawal, CEO, Bluesport Entertainment Pvt. Ltd (official license holder of the league), is confident that the league will help the sport grow in terms of popularity, just like the Pro Kabaddi League. "We are convinced that the sport of handball and the league itself shall in years to come break all expectations in terms of popularity and create immense opportunities for those looking at taking on this sport professionally," Agrawal told mid-day.com recently.

Agrawal feels the league will help create a much-needed opportunity for youngsters and will help them pursue the sport as a career option. "There was no option to make a professional career based upon handball till date, but with the launch of the league, youngsters will get motivated to take up handball as a career option. The league shall not only make a career in handball financially viable, but also bring fame to our handball players by creating heroes out of this sport," Agrawal said.

The league will help coaches financially too. "Currently, our handball players have very limited financial options, most of which is limited to few beneficiaries getting a job through sports quota. We are going to launch a grassroots program apart from the league which shall create financial options for our players and coaches," Agrawal said.

Handball Federation of India (HFI) looks after the functioning of the national team. It can be recalled that the first senior men's national handball championship was held at Rohtak (Haryana) in 1972, exactly 50 years ago. The national men's team participated in its first tournament abroad in 1979. The team travelled to Nanjing, China, to take part in the Asian Championships. India concluded the event at bottom-placed fifth position.

Agrawal feels the league will impact the sport at the grassroot level, "There has already been a lot of development by various governing bodies at the grassroot level. However, with the advent of the league, it is a given that the popularity of the sport shall rise further and participation shall increase quantum fold, thereby giving rise to more competitions, clubs, academies, infrastructural development at a grassroot level," he concluded.