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Handball

Shubham Sheoran wants to make an impact in first season of PHL

Telugu Talons defender Shubham Sheoran is excited that Premier Handball League will take the sport to more audiences.

Shubham Sheoran wants to make an impact in first season of PHL
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By

Abhijit Nair

Published: 28 May 2023 6:30 AM GMT

Handball has been amongst the most watched sports in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics and the 2020 Tokyo Games. The sport was second only to football when the Brazilian city hosted the quadrennial event 7 years ago.

Its international popularity notwithstanding, handball remains a very lesser-known sport in India. The upcoming inaugural edition of the Premier Handball League (PHL) will bring about a change in this, believes Shubham Sheoran, who will ply his trade for the Telugu Talons in the league.

"I think PHL will help get a lot of viewership to handball. If you look at it there is a lot of action and speed in the sport which draws in the audience. In the 2016 and 2020 Olympics, handball was one of the most watched sports alongside football," Sheoran told The Bridge.

"In India, people do not know a lot about handball and the league will help in bridging this gap," the left-back added.

Hailing from Haryana, Shubham Sheoran picked up handball while still in school and rose through the state's extremely competitive grassroots program and has gone on to represent India at various international meets including the 2022 Asian Championships and the Olympic qualifiers.

"I was in school when I saw a few kids play handball. There were some international players and coaches there too, who approached me stating that I have a good height and I could be successful very easily," he said.

However, the road was not easy for Sheoran, and he had to fight with his family to continue playing the sport.

"In the beginning, my family did not like the idea of me playing handball. They wanted me to focus on my studies, but I kept playing. I used to fight a lot with them to continue playing," Sheoran recalled.

"As I kept playing, my passion for the sport grew. In between my family suggested that I switch to some different sport, but I was so invested in handball that I never felt like leaving it," he further added.
Shubham Sheoran feels that you need to be an all-around athlete to succeed in handball.
"You have to be an all-rounder to be a good handball player. In wrestling you require strength, in athletics you need speed. But in handball you need a combination of everything - speed, strength, agility, power," he signed off.
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