Premier Handball League: Rajasthan Patriots, Telugu Talons start with wins

Rajasthan Patriots faced Maharashtra Ironmen in the first-ever match of the Premier Handball League while Telugu Talons emerged victorious against Garvit Gujarat in the second tie.

The first game proved to be a thriller with Rajasthan Patriots winning but just one goal. In a game that started with Rajasthan Patriots piling pressure on the Maharashtra Ironmen, Hardev Singh of the Patriots became the first-ever scorer in the league within 3 minutes of the game.

Igor Chiseliov inspired the Ironmen and they slowly found a way into the game. The Patriots went a man down as Dmitry Kireev was shown a red card in the first half when the scores were 10-8 in favor of Rajasthan. The first half ended with a score of 14-12 in favor of Rajasthan Patriots.

Maharashtra Ironmen came out for the second half with fire in their bellies and looked to put the Patriots on the back foot.

The second half saw both teams put in a marvelous display as halfway through in the second half the scores read 21 all.

The game took a thrilling turn as both teams were exchanging blows constantly. The match was a roller-coaster ride till the very last minute with a score of 27-27.

However, a goal via a penalty in the dying embers of the game by the Patriot’s Mohit Ganghas saw them come away with the win in the first-ever match of PHL. The final score of the first game was 28-27 in favor of Rajasthan.

For Rajasthan Patriots, Mohit Ganghas and Sahil Malik emerged as the top scorers with 5 goals each, while for Maharashtra Ironmen Jalal Kiani and Igor Chiseliov were the top scorers with 7 goals a piece.

Mohit Ganghas was adjudged to be the best player of the match for his dynamic and inspirational performance that proved to be the difference between the two teams at the end of the tie.

The second match of the day saw Telugu Talons take on Garvit Gujarat. The match had an explosive start as both teams came out of the block aggressively and were evenly matched in the opening exchanges.

Halfway through the first half, both teams were tied at 11 all. However, Telugu Talons started to pull away from Garvit Gujarat as they were finding it hard to contain Davinder Singh Bhullar who was dominating Gujarat despite their efforts to stop him. At the end of the first half, the scores read 19-16 in favor of Telugu Talons.

Telugu Talons looked to build upon their slender lead in the second half but Gujarat Garvit looked resolute to find a way back in the tie. Garvit Gujarat were sitting back in front of their goal as Telugu were creating chances at will with Davinder Singh Bhullar and Anil Khudia running riot in the early minutes of the second half.

Gujarat was looking to counter with pace in the hope of catching Telugu off-guard. However, despite Gujarat’s best efforts halfway through the second half, the scores read 32-27 in favor of the Telugu Talons.

Garvit Gujarat was going all-out in the last ten minutes of the tie as they were slowly getting into an attacking groove that saw them mount somewhat of a comeback. But, to no avail as the game ended 39-32 in favor of Telugu Talons, who at the end of the tie had secured a classy victory.

Garvit Gujarat and Telugu Talons return to action tomorrow as they take on Delhi Panzers and Golden UP Eagles respectively.