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The Indian women’s handball team is scheduled to play at the Asian Games 2023 between September 24 and October 5 in Hangzhou, China. Veteran player Jyoti Shukla will lead India in the 10-team women’s event.
Asia’s fifth-ranked team, India, will kick off its campaign against 2018 bronze medallist Japan on September 25. India will also compete against teams like China, Nepal, and Hong Kong, China in Pool B to vie for a semi-final spot.
The women’s handball team is the only representation from India in the sport after the Sports Ministry of India withdrew the name of the men’s team along with three other teams due to inferior ranking in the continent.
The Indian women's team has never finished on the podium since it participated in 2006 for the very first time and they haven’t even qualified for the semi-finals in the last four editions.
Let’s try to understand why India has the best chance to win a medal in handball in the 19th edition of the continental showpiece.
#3 Regular exposure
The Indian women’s team have been playing regularly in top international events in the last two years at both senior and junior levels. Although India missed the chance to seal a Paris Olympics berth after finishing fifth in the Asian Women’s Handball Qualification Tournament 2023, the learning curve is something the players will take into the Asian Games.
The team will again face heavyweights like Japan and the Republic of China at the Asiad. The experience in the qualification matches can only help them to enhance their performance.
India also recently hosted the Asian Women’s Youth Handball Championships 2023 between July 23 and August 1 in Noida.
#2 Fearless gameplay
The Indian women's team created history in February when they clinched the prestigious Asian President’s Cup title in Jordan for the first time. India won all their six matches in the double round-robin league system.
They got the better of Jordan, Kuwait, and Iraq twice to finish on the top of the table with 12 points. Nidhi Sharma was awarded the Most Valuable Player of the tournament, while Diksha Thakur bagged the best goalkeeper award.
Just a year before, the junior team clinched the gold medal at the 16th Asian Women's Junior Championships in Kazakhstan to qualify for their first Junior World Championships. India also won the South Asian Handball Championship. This is a testament that India has produced ample talent at grassroots levels and they will only get stronger in the coming days.
#1 Sachin Chaudhury the force behind India's growth in Handball
Sachin Chaudhary, a former player-turned-coach, has been the catalyst for the evolution of Indian handball. It was under his coaching that India qualified for the Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship for the first time.
Along with his wife Snehalata, a former international handball player, Sachin started a handball nursery (academy) in Morsinghi, Himachal Pradesh, with India’s brightest scorer Bhawana being one of the five players to be a beneficiary of this initiative.
Sachin has a vision for Indian handball and for the moment, the Asian Games will be another stepping stone for bigger heights.
