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Hand me down
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The recent Senior National Handball Championship for men was not the best showcase for the sport
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Handball is supposedly the second fastest game in the world, next only to ice-hockey. But what one witnessed at the Sree Kanteerava stadium at the recently concluded 36th edition of the Senior National Handball Championship for men, was mediocre, to
say the least.
Services Sports Control Board (SSCB) with its superior speed and better agility waltzed to the title, which it incidentally regained after a gap of seven years. It recorded a 33-19 win over Chattisgarh and the victory was made easier when Chattisgarh humbled holders and oft-crowned champions Punjab in the semi finals, 35-30. SSCB stopped the Andhra Pradesh’s winning run in the other semi-final.
Karnataka, which came fifth in this edition has had a glorious past, finishing runner-up to eventual champions SSCB in 1998 at Jamshedpur, while in 1988 it was third best at Jaipur. Karnataka women emerged national champions thrice between 1985-90 when Roopa Kiran was at her peak.
In the nationals this year, the 29 teams in the fray were divided into four groups with the top two from each qualifying for the round of eight in the knock-out phase. Andhra Pradesh’s 38-36 quarter final win over former champions Indian Railways was easily the best fought match in the championship.
On the organisational front, the Karnataka Handball Association (KHA) has had many firsts to its credit. It was Karnataka that initiated the mini nationals (under-12) at BEL grounds in 1999, while the first Federation Cup (in ’79) and the inaugural Inter Zonal Championship (’85) too were conducted in Bangalore.
Rapid fire Handball can feature some really fast-paced action
Shimoga, where the encouragement for the game has been phenomenal, hosted the 1992 senior nationals for men and women. Out of 29 South Zone Championships conducted thus far, 11 have been held in Karnataka, with the State association spreading it across various districts from Belgaum in the north to Dakshina Kannada (Mangalore) in the south.
The Gnanadeepa School at Jawali near Shimoga has become the nursery for handball players in the State and today boasts of nearly 1,000 registered players. Bhadravathi is a close second. Handball is also prominent in Mysore and Hassan with Davangere of late being an important centre.
But the State body’s initiative far outstrips the effort and contributions of the Handball Federation of India (HFI). Dr. R.L. Anand, President and S.M. Bali, Secretary General have had important roles to play at the national and Asian level, but with little results for the game in India.
“Though Dr. Anand is the chairman of the Commonwealth Handball Association, sadly the game is not included in the 2010 New Delhi Commonwealth Games,” said a source.
A vital component of the game, the field officials, have been a let down. “We have more than 100 referees at the national level but not even a single International referee. The federation big-wigs have not made any effort to improve the quality of our officials. At the Asian and international level there are at least two refresher courses conducted each year.”
The quality of the officials was exposed this year too. And even more farcical was the rule books being “tossed out” and some of the games reduced to 10 and 15 minutes to suit certain “conveniences”. And this was not the case only in the league stages. Even the quarter final between Punjab and Gujarat was played for only 10-odd minutes out of the scheduled 30 in the second half.
The teams had no say in the proceedings.
AVINASH NAIR
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