History in Handball — Indian women's junior team qualifies for World Championships for first time

The Indian junior women's handball team has created history by qualifying for the Junior World Championships for the first time ever. This development came after the Indian eves clinched the gold medal at the 16th Asian Women's Junior Championships in Kazakhstan.

The Women's Junior World Championships in Handball was first held in the year 1977.

"History has been made, Our Indian women's Junior team wins Gold in the 16th Asian Women's Junior Championships in Kazakhstan and qualifies for the World Championships for the very first time," the Handball Federation of India tweeted.

India made it to the World Championships after they defeated Thailand by a massive margin of 41-18 in their final game of the Asian Championships. This win helped India edge past Iran on goal difference and bag the top spot on the podium.

Played in Almaty, Kazakhstan, the Women's Asian Junior Championships commenced on 7th March 2022. India finished the 5-team tournament with 3 wins and 1 loss in their 4 games.

India started off with a 32-31 win over Uzbekistan before losing to Iran 37-42. They however bounced back well with a 29-21 win over hosts Kazakhstan before beating Thailand in their final game.

Iran too finished with 3 wins and 1 loss, but had to settle for the silver medal on the basis of goal difference. The Middle Eastern country also earned a direct entry to the Junior World Championships, thanks to their top two finish.

Handball Federation of India president A Jagan Mohan Rao and executive director Anandeshwar Pandey congratulated the team for its historic feat.

"India has never won a gold in any international level earlier, be it junior or senior. No doubt, we have won at South Asian level but not beyond that. We have not even reached final earlier. This is the first time India has won a gold in Asian level," Pandey said.

"The team had gone to Almaty with great difficulty but the players made the country proud."