Central Kolkata (Women) and West Kolkata (Men) Crowned Champions at State Handball Championship

Reported by Sanchita chatterjee Central Kolkata, (Women) and West Kolkata (Men) Crowned Champions at State Handball Championship

Kolkata: The women's team from Centra Kolkata and the men's team from West Kolkata have successfully maintained their winning streaks at the State Handball Championship. Held at the grounds of Thakurpukur Vivekananda College, the 21st Senior State Handball Championship saw Central Kolkata—the defending champions in the women's category—retain their title by defeating Jalpaiguri with a score of 20-11. West Kolkata and Nadia secured the third and fourth positions, respectively, in this category.

Meanwhile, in the men's category, following a fiercely contested battle, the defending champions—West Kolkata—emerged victorious once again by defeating North 24 Parganas with a score of 28-25. Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar finished in the third and fourth spots in the men's division.In the women's category, Mo

umita Roy of Central Kolkata was named the 'Best Player' of the tournament. Her teammate, Bithika Rabha, who scored 8 crucial goals in the final, also earned the distinction of being the 'Best Scorer.' Additionally, Soma Sen of Jalpaiguri was recognized as the 'Best Goalkeeper.'

In the men's category, Tarun Mahato of West Kolkata was adjudged the 'Best Player' of the championship, while Debashish Karmakar was selected as the 'Best Goalkeeper.

Notably, the Women's Senior National Handball Championship is scheduled to take place in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, during the last week of this month. The recently concluded State Championship played a pivotal role in the selection process for the 14-member Bengal squad for that upcoming national tournament.

A total of 8 teams participated in the men's category and 9 teams in the women's category in this year's competition. In recent times, interest in handball has been on the rise, driven by the increasing opportunities for government employment available to players. Specifically, avenues for handball players are opening up within the Army, CISF, CRPF, BSF, Coastal Guard, as well as the Postal and Police departments.

In this context, Jiarul Rahman Mondal, Chairman of the Technical Committee of the State Handball Association, noted that the success rate of female players in securing employment is currently higher than that of their male counterparts. Consequently, this trend is expected to play a significant role in nurturing high-caliber female handball players in Bengal in the years to come.