Without flooring facility, handball team has little medal hopes

KARACHI: Despite hosting the IHF Trophy Pakistan still has no handball court ‘flooring’ which is the demand of the modern day indoor handball.

Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) is going to hold the National Handball Championship from June 4 at Abbottabad on grass, again a huge deviation from the international standard. Moreover the Liaquat Gymnasium Islamabad has a wooden floor and it is not suitable either for the Pakistan handball team to train on as per international requirements. It is to be mentioned that flooring offers the best surface for the players to dive without any fear of getting injured and which is also an international standard.

The Pakistan handball team is preparing for the Islamic Games and Asian Games but the issue is how the national brigade will impress in these two events when there is not even a single handball flooring in the country.

Even the countries like Nepal and Bangladesh have this flooring. The PHF has raised its voice at major forums for handball flooring but to no avail. In the Pakistan Sports Board (PSB) meeting with the national federations to be held in Islamabad on Wednesday (tomorrow) the PHF will submit a document regarding the matter.

“Yes, it’s a big issue as we have no handball court flooring and a proper hall,” a senior official of the PHF told ‘The News’. “Foreign nations respect us and even agree to play with us on hard courts. If we get a flooring it will make things easier for us to hold quality events both at the national and international levels and also train our players as per international standards,” the official said.

He added that the price of flooring is 70,000 Euros and can be imported from France which produces a good quality of stuff. “Once you lay it down at a perfect hall with all international standard facilities then you can even hold events of wrestling, volleyball and some other indoor sports on the same floor,” the official said.

“A hall is being built in Lahore and there is also a good hall in Mardan where this flooring can also be laid down,” he said. About the Liaquat Gymnasium Islamabad the official said that it’s a bit small and does not fulfill international standards.

Because of no flooring facility and infrastructure, Pakistan has no major say in international indoor handball. Though the nation has its name in the international beach handball where the country is capable of even beating tough nations.

The PHF official conceded that Pakistan has no medal chance in handball in Islamic Games and Asian Games. “Yes we have no chance in these two events as the world’s leading nations will be there but the exposure at that level will help Pakistan to prepare well for the 14th South Asian Games,” the official said.

“It does not mean we cannot develop indoor handball. The actual issue is that we need infrastructure so that the players can be trained as per international standards. Look we have defeated India in indoor handball but India had much better facilities for this indoor sport. India is sending a team to every Asian Championship while we have not played in any such event so far,” he concluded.