Premier Handball League : All you know about Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh

Owned by Pavna Group of Industries, Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh is one of the six teams in the inaugural edition of the Premier Handball League (PHL). The team is headed by a young and dynamic entrepreneur Swapnil Jain, who has a deep interest in handball and has the vision to promote the sport in Uttar Pradesh.

"Handball is a popular sport and most schools in India have included it as part of their sports curriculum. But with time the sport's popularity has faded. We as a stakeholder want to support handball and enable it to regain its glory by joining hands with PHL. We hope to achieve this goal and our objective will be to bring awareness and excitement to the sport back," said Jain.

The Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh snapped up a total of 17 players, including three overseas stars, during the player auction last month,

Their three overseas stars include goalkeeper Omid Reza from Iran, Jordan's 16-year-old rising defender Ziad Obeidat, and Philippines' Van Lacob Baccay.

While Reza is an experienced campaigner who has represented his country at the 2022 Handball World Cup, Obeidat is one of the highest-rated youngsters in the world and was also named the best player of the Jordan Junior Championships. Baccay, on the other hand, has won several laurels for the Philippines, including an Asian Games bronze.

The Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh will be coached by Anup Singh and Priyadeep Singh.

Squads

Goalkeepers: Omid Reza, Gurpinder Singh, Sunil Ghanghas

Defenders: Ziad Obeidat, Van Lacob Baccay, Sukhveer Singh Brar, Aashish Kumar, Amit Sharma, Harjinder Panjeta, Sahil Rana, Vikas Kumar

Wingers: Sanchit Kumar Gupta, Bhushan Shinde, Mankesh Poonia, Kamal Ghanghas

Pivot: Naveen Malik, Vansh Thakran

Foreign players: Omid Reza, Ziad Obeidat, and Van Lacob Baccay

Coaches: Anup Singh and Priyadeeep Singh