National Handball youth teams gear up for IHF glory at home

Bangla Press Desk:  The Bangladesh Handball Federation is gearing up to host two international youth handball tournaments under the International Handball Federation (IHF) this June. Both tournaments will be age-based, targeting Under-18 and Under-20 categories, with the national team determined to win the titles on home soil.

In preparation, the federation has organized the TCL National Youth Handball Championship, which will begin on Sunday with 10 district teams competing. The tournament aims to identify and groom talented players for long-term training ahead of the international events.

Speaking at a press conference on Saturday at the federation’s office, Secretary General Salauddin Ahmed said, “With two IHF tournaments being held in our country, winning the trophies is our main goal. That is why we are conducting early tournaments to select players and provide them with long-term training to achieve this target.”

The 10 participating teams are divided into two groups of five. Unlike previous national youth tournaments, where teams often played only a few matches due to multiple groups, this time the format has been adjusted to ensure that each district team gets at least four matches.

TCL is the official sponsor of the youth handball event, and no services or departmental teams are participating due to the age restrictions, which only allow players born in 2006 and 2008 to compete. Regarding the relatively low participation, Salauddin added, “Many district administrators are not very interested in handball, so despite our efforts, it was not possible to increase the number of teams.”

Looking ahead, Salauddin also revealed plans for an elite league following the national team selections. “We will organize a nine-month-long elite league with some services teams, where each team will face every other team five times. This will enhance their competitive skills and better prepare them for the future,” he said.

BP/SP