‘World Cup’ experience for Hyderabadi girls

 

For the International Handball Tournament which is like the “World Cup of handball” this year, around 90 nations participated and among them were 10 girls from Hyderabad. 

After the selection in January, 12 students from St Francis were shortlisted by coach Siva Kumar. 

 

“The tournaments took place between June 25 and 27 in Germany and June 30 to July 5 in Sweden. We were the only team from the country to qualify for the Under 21 category; the other category was Under 15. Last year it was a mix from Hyderabad and Mumbai, so this year when all of us from Hyderabad made it, we were very excited,” says Akhila Reddy, a final year student.

 

The girls competed with some of the best teams from around the world, spent more than a lakh and even though they didn’t manage to secure a top rank, they are still grateful. 

 

“The expenses came up to Rs 1.2 lakh for each, which everybody paid from their own pockets. The competition, on the other hand, was very tough. Even though handball is a 30-minute game, one needs good stamina to be able to stay on the ground. But it was a good experience and the exposure was amazing. We even had a week-long workshop,” says Akhila. 

 

“The girls from Europe were easily 6 feet tall, so our height was a weak point,” says coach Siva. “Handball is an indoor tournament, whereas we practiced outdoor as we don’t have an indoor stadium. But we are going to practice hard from now on,” adds Siva, who has his hopes high for the next year.