Girls win handball gold, Barwal his second gold

Following in the footsteps of the kabaddi girls, the women’s handball team from the state defeated Haryana in the final to win their second consecutive gold medal in the National Games being played in Uttarakhand. “The handball team defeated the Haryana girls for their second consecutive gold medal in the National Games. They won 45-39,” said Rajesh Bhandari, Secretary, Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association.

Advertisement

Bhandari further said that long distance runner Sawan Barwal had won his second gold at the games. The athlete picked a gold in the 5,000 m race today after winning a gold in the 10,000 m event a couple of days back. “Our athletes are doing quite well in the edition of the National Games,” said Bhandari.

While appreciating the girls, handball coach Sneh Lata said the girls won their matches quite easily in the group stages before beating Haryana in the keenly contested final. “We had beaten Haryana in the final of the last National Games as well. So, it felt really nice to beat them again and win our second consecutive gold,” the coach said.

She further said that state girls had been doing quite well even at the international stage. “Many of our girls were part of the Indian team that participated in the Asian Games and Asian Championship recently,” she said. “We do not have an indoor hall to practice in the state. If we get the indoor hall, our girls will do even better,” she said.

She further thanked the Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association for its support in selecting a good team for the Games. “We faced some selection related problems but HPOA ensured the best girls were picked for the Games,” the coach said.