| Handball in India | |
|---|---|
| Country |  India |
| Governing body | Handball Association of India |
| National team(s) | India men's national handball team India women's national handball team |
| First played | 1972 |
Club competitions | |
Premier Handball League Women's Premier Handball League | |
Handball in India is controlled by the Handball Association of India. It was founded by Jagat Singh Lohan from Rohtak, Haryana, who was an alumnus of YMCA College of Physical Education of Madras. His efforts during Munich Olympics helped in establishing HFI. The member states were Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Vidharbha and Jammu and Kashmir. He was also elected as first secretary general of Handball Federation of India.
The first senior men's national handball championship was held at Sir Chhotu Ram Stadium, Rohtak, in 1972.Indian handball team first time participated in the 2nd asian handball championship held at china nanjing in the year 1979 Mr Balwinder Singh from J&K state was the first captain of the Indian team
Due to huge efforts of the HFI administrators, India started participating in the Asian Men's Handball Championship in 1979 and the Asian Women's Handball Championship in 1993. Though the teams were yet to win a medal, participation brought important experience for players and coaching staff.[1]
| Category | Best rank | Total teams | Year | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 5th | 5 | 1979 |  China
|
| Women | 6th | 7 | 2000 | China
|
| U-21 men | 8th | 11 | 2006 |  Japan
|
| U-20 women | 5th | 7 | 2000 |  Bangladesh
|
| U-19 men | 6th | 12 | 2018 |  Jordan
|
| U-18 women | 5th | 5 | 2005 |  Thailand
|
Indian men's handball team first participated in the Asian Games in 1982 when the event was hosted in New Delhi. Women's team debuted in the event 2006 held at Doha.[citation needed]
| Event | Best rank | Total teams | Year | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 8th | 8 | 1982 | India
|
| Women | 8th | 9 | 2014 |  South Korea
|
Indian men's handball team is the second best team of Asian Games, after Pakistan. Men's team debuted in 2010 and won silver medal, losing to Pakistan in the final by 37–31.[2] In the 2016 edition, India got their revenge when they hosted the event in Guwahati, narrowly defeating Pakistan by 32–31.[3] In the 2019 edition, Pakistan dethroned India beating them in Kathmandu by 30–29.[4]
Indian women's handball team is the best team of South Asia, winning both editions of the South Asian Games in 2016 and 2019, defeating Bangladesh and hosts Nepal respectively.[5]
| Event | Best rank | Total teams | Year | Host |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Men | 1st | 6 | 2016 | India
|
| Women | 1st | 6 | 2019 |  Nepal
|
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