The three-day 37th State Handball Championship began at the Nehru stadium here on Friday. The start appeared to be a low-key affair with a thin audience. Many of the matches will be played under floodlights.
Twenty four men’s teams and eight women’s teams from different districts are taking part in the tournament. Among these teams are those from Madras Engineers Group and Centre, Karnataka State Police, Army Service Corps and Centre, and a civilian team, who were the semi-finalists in the tournament held last year. Teams from Chikkamagaluru, Kalaburagi and Vijayapura are participating for the first time.
The tournament was conducted jointly by the Karnataka Handball Association and the Dakshina Kannada District Handball Association. The State association will be selecting the State men’s team that will play in the national-level tournament to be held in Bhilai in December by monitoring the performance of players in this tournament, said the association’s Honorary Secretary M.K Nagendra.
There were hardly any people to watch the matches held at the two courts set up in the football ground. The association was setting up two more courts. Mr. Nagendra said the association had planned to hold as many as 72 matches in three days. “We will be having matches till around 10 p.m. under floodlights,” he said.
The poor crowd response has not, however, brought down the intensity of the players in the matches. The host Dakshina Kannada district men’s team found it difficult to cope with the lively players from Hassan who had a comfortable win in the league match. “There is good coordination and speed in Hassan players,” said Yogish L., a veteran handball player from a club from Bhadravati that is also participating in the tournament.
Among the young players keenly watching the proceedings included Hida Yunus, a I PU student from St. Aloysius College, a member of the District Women’s team. “I like this sport for the speed and team spirit, which is a key factor for victory,” said Ms. Yunus, also a member of the college’s handball team and has taken part in handball matches held in other parts of the State.
