Sanchita Chattejee, BS News Agency, Kolkata: The women's team from Central 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. In this category, West Kolkata and Nadia secured the third and fourth positions, respectively.
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, Moumita Roy from 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 Goalkeeper.' Additionally, Soma Sen from Jalpaiguri received recognition as a top goalkeeper.
In the men's category, Tarun Mahato from West Kolkata was adjudged the championship's 'Best Player,' 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. This recently concluded State Championship played a pivotal role in the selection of the 14-member Bengal squad for that upcoming national competition.
A total of 8 teams participated in the men's category and 9 teams in the women's category in this year's tournament. In recent times, interest in handball has been on the rise, driven by 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, Ziarul Rahman Mondal, Chairman of the State Handball Association's Technical Committee, noted that the success rate of female players in securing employment is currently higher than that of their male counterparts. Consequently, these opportunities are expected to play a significant role in nurturing high-caliber female handball players in Bengal in the years to come.