India team rue lack of indoor facilities, gum ball for loss in Asian Handball

Having lost their second Group B game against Iran 32-20 earlier this week, it was always going to be an uphill task for Indian women’s handball team to qualify for the Asian Women’s Handball Championship semi-finals when they faced Japan in their final match on Friday evening at the Indira Gandhi Indoor Stadium in Delhi.

Iran had already made it tough for India by beating Hong Kong-China 26-17 earlier in the day. They had moved to second place with two wins. That meant host India were in a must-win situation.

However, the Japanese proved too strong an opponent as they walloped the Diksha Kumari-led team 48-15 to move into second position and qualify for the semi-finals thereby confirm a place for the World Championships.

Iran's Koudzarifarahani Nastaran attempts at the goal

Maninder Kaur scored India's first goal even as goalkeeper Nina Shil tried to thwart Japan’s early attacks. However, Japan proved too strong an opponent and the gap between the quality of the two teams was soon evident.

The Japanese were very quick on the counter-attacks and kept pounding the Indian goal with results.

They ran up a big lead by the half-time, moving ahead with 29-8.

They then continued the onslaught in the second half too.

A Kazakh player shoots at Singapore's goal

Indians, who hardly get to practice with gum ball used for the tournaments and usually practice in open courts, were no match for the experienced who are among the best teams in Asia. Though they haven’t won any Asian title, they have finished second and third on a number of occasions and are the reigning Asian Games champions, having won gold at 2022 Hangzhou edition.

“We have performed better than in the last edition. We were equal with Hong Kong-China and had lost to Iran by 10-12 points but this time we beat Hong Kong-China and ran Iran close,” said India captain Diksha.

“We made a few errors against Iran in defence and attack and that impacted us. Japan are way ahead of us, we knew it was going to be tough.”

Coach Manisha Rathore said that the Iran game proved decisive.

“We lost to them by just to points, We still have the fifth spot to fight for.”

Maninder Kaur attempts at Japanese goal. Kazakhs won 38-7 

She also added that playing handball outdoors is one of the reason why India team lags behind Japan.

“We play the game outdoors. Then we don’t play with gum ball. We also got only 10 days to prepare in the camp. If the girls prepare for six months or a year and in indoor facility, they will surely improve and do well. Sports Authority of India (SAI) is providing facilities. We will definitely improve with time and facilities.”

India will play the 5-8th place semi-final against Singapore, with the winner of the clash facing either China or Hong Kong-CHN in the placement finals. Meanwhile, in the main bracket, South Korea will take on Iran while Kazakhstan will play Japan. The semi-final fixtures will take place on December 8.

Tags : Handball, Asian Women's Handball, India team, Iran, Japan, Maninder Kaur, Delhi