New Delhi: To promote India’s premier handball league, the Asian Handball Federation has pledged to support the event by facilitating the entry of top Asian players, officials and other experts.
The league is envisioned with the aim of changing the game in India and the support of the Asian body will be crucial in that direction.
This follows a recent meeting of a delegation of the Premier Handball League (PHL) with the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) in Tehran.
The Indian delegation was led by Anandeshwar Pandey, Executive Director, Handball Federation of India, along with Manu Agarwal, CEO, BlueSport Entertainment, and Aseem Merchant, Director, BlueSport Entertainment. Bluesport Entertainment is the exclusive licensee of the league under HFI.
The Asian body said it has always encouraged the development of handball in the region and will support the PHL in all possible ways for its successful conduct. “We are delighted to know the vision and commitment of PHL to popularize handball in India. India has great potential to become the next handball destination and we believe this league is a solid step in that direction.”
“We would be happy to facilitate Asian countries to send players, referees as well as other specialist and excellence exchanges to participate in the league. This will promote the promotion of handball and will also help to raise the level of competitions,” AHF Executive Director, Ahmed Abu Al-Lail and Secretary General Muhammad Shafiq said in a statement.
The AHF has 44 countries as members, committed to providing the expertise and participation of top Asian players in the first edition of the PHL.
The meeting between the officials of the AHF and PHL was also an opportunity to discuss the phenomenal development of the sport at the Asian level as well as the recent success of the Indian handball ecosystem with the help of the Asian Confederation.
“We discussed several aspects related to the league and how it could benefit from the support of the AHF. The Asian body’s support will further strengthen our mission of revolutionizing Indian handball and having the best of talent and experience in the league will help showcase world class handball to the Indian audience for the first time. Manu Agarwal, CEO, BlueSport Entertainment said, “This will be an opportunity for Indian players to take their game to the next level.
The recent success of the Indian junior girls’ handball team at the Asian Championships, where it won a gold medal, is a clear indication that the sport is booming in the country.
Pandey of HFI said, “Our girls are not only the current Asian champions but have also qualified for the Junior World Championships for the first time. This is a big milestone for Indian handball and on behalf of HFI, I thank AHF for their commitment to helping Indian handball grow and develop.”
“India has immense talent and we are working on championing and nurturing that talent and supporting the PHL as well as the AHF is the right move for the sport,” Pandey said.