Handball in India

Handball in India
Country	India
Governing body	Handball Association of India
National team(s)	India men's national handball team India women's national handball team
First played	1972;53 years ago (1972)
Club competitions
Premier Handball League Women's Premier Handball League

Handball in India is controlled by the Handball Association of India. It was founded by Jagat Singh Lohan from Rohtak, Haryana, who was an alumnus of YMCA College of Physical Education of Madras. His efforts during Munich Olympics helped in establishing HFI. The member states were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Vidharbha and Jammu and Kashmir. He was also elected as first secretary general of Handball Federation of India.

The first senior men's national handball championship was held at Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium, Rohtak, in 1972.Indian handball team first time participated in the 2nd asian handball championship held at china nanjing in the year 1979 Mr Balwinder Singh from J&K state was the first captain of the Indian team

Performance record

Asian Championships

Due to huge efforts of the HFI administrators, India started participating in the Asian Men's Handball Championship in 1979 and the Asian Women's Handball Championship in 1993. Though the teams were yet to win a medal, participation brought important experience for players and coaching staff. ^[1]

Category	Best rank	Total teams	Year	Host
Men	5th	5	1979	China
Women	6th	7	2000	China
U-21 men	8th	11	2006	Japan
U-20 women	5th	7	2000	Bangladesh
U-19 men	6th	12	2018	Jordan
U-18 women	5th	5	2005	Thailand

Asian Games

Indian men's handball team first participated in the Asian Games in 1982 when the event was hosted in New Delhi. Women's team debuted in the event 2006 held at Doha.^{[ citation needed ]}

Event	Best rank	Total teams	Year	Host
Men	8th	8	1982	India
Women	8th	9	2014	South Korea

South Asian Games

Indian men's handball team is the second best team of Asian Games, after Pakistan. Men's team debuted in 2010 and won silver medal, losing to Pakistan in the final by 37–31. ^[2] In the 2016 edition, India got their revenge when they hosted the event in Guwahati, narrowly defeating Pakistan by 32–31. ^[3] In the 2019 edition, Pakistan dethroned India beating them in Kathmandu by 30–29. ^[4]

Indian women's handball team is the best team of South Asia, winning both editions of the South Asian Games in 2016 and 2019, defeating Bangladesh and hosts Nepal respectively. ^[5]

Event	Best rank	Total teams	Year	Host
Men	1st	6	2016	India
Women	1st	6	2019	Nepal

References

1. "Championship History". www.asianhandball.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
2. "South Asian Games Handball: Final Results". www.teamhandballnews.com. Retrieved 7 February 2010.
3. "Men's Handball Final Match: 12th South Asian Games 2016". PIB's YouTube Channel. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
4. "Pakistan men's Handball team labours to Gold over India in 13th South Asian Games". www.khilari.com.pk. Retrieved 9 December 2019.
5. "SAG Handball: India clinches gold in men's and women's event". www.sportstar.thehindu.com. Retrieved 15 February 2016.