Pakistan to feature in Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship
By our correspondent
KARACHI: Pakistan youth handball team will feature in the Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship slated to be held in Kish, Iran, from March 22-31.
The event also will serve as qualifiers for the World Youth Beach Handball Championship to be held in Heraklion, Greece, from June 14-19, 2022. As many as top three teams will make it to the global event from here. Qatar, India, Jordan, Afghanistan, Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Jordan, Iran and Pakistan are likely to feature in the competitions. Pakistan youth team had won bronze in the previous Asian Youth Beach Handball Championship in Thailand in 2016.
The same side then finished ninth in the World Youth Beach Handball Championship held in Mauritius in 2017. Pakistan Handball Federation (PHF) said on Tuesday that the boys have been undergoing training for the Iran’s event since January 1 at the University of Agriculture, Faisalabad Sand court. “The team is in good shape and InshaAllah will get medal and qualify for the World Youth Beach Handball Championship and Youth Olympic Games as well,” the PHF said in a press release.
Meanwhile the PHF president Mohammad Shafiq told thecricketplus.com that 13 boys are in the camp which is being conducted by three officials. “Ten players and three officials will proceed to Iran,” Shafiq said.
“We are in talks with Iran as we want a few practice games against them ahead of the event. And after finalising the schedule with them we want to send our team three days before the event so that it could get some training also,” said Shafiq, also secretary of Asian Handball Federation (AHF).
He said that the state will be meeting boarding and lodging expenses of the ten players. “Initially we were thinking to send the team by road but now we have decided to send it by air,” the official said. He said that there is a likely chance that Iran, Pakistan and Qatar will qualify for the World Championship. And from the global event two teams from each continent will make it to the Youth Olympics to be held in