New Delhi, Aug 13 (Sports news) Handball Federation of India executive director Anandeshwar Pandey called on International Handball Federation president Hassan Moustafa to chalk out a roadmap for growing the sport in the country.

The meeting, which happened on the sidelines of the Tokyo Olympics, involved discussions on how IHF can extend its support to give international exposure to Indian players and also provide top foreign coaches and experts to train local coaches and technical officials.

"It was a very meaningful meeting with the IHF President. IHF is very much interested in supporting us in order to popularise this sport in the country. We also discussed how IHF can help us in our mission to further take this sport to new heights," Pandey said.

Handball has been making rapid strides in India in recent times, especially with the launch of the Premier Handball League (PHL).

The sport has also been included in Khelo India, facilitating grassroots development.

IHF also promised to support the league, which is expected to bolster the progress of handball in India and attract more players to take up the sport professionally.

Also read: Nobody in NRAI wanted me as coach except president Raninder Singh: Jaspal Rana

The inaugural edition of PHL, being organised by Bluesport Entertainment Pvt Ltd — the official license holders — under the aegis of HFI, was scheduled to be held in December-January but it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

"We are thankful to IHF for extending their support to the league alongside HFI. Our dream is to create top-quality athletes who can represent India at the multinational sporting events and win medals," Abhinav Banthia, President of Bluesport Entertainment Pvt Ltd, said.

Handball has been identified as a priority sport by the sports ministry under Target Olympic Podium Scheme and it has close to 80,000 registered players currently in the country.

News source: PTI