Handball’s unsung heroes

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After the league match against Puducherry, CISF players Binu Vasu and N.S. Ananad were surrounded by a group of their opponents. What followed were a friendly talk, autograph session and photo shoot.

Yes, the images of these national veteran players from Kerala are etched in the minds of the handball players but they are sadly unknown to the public.

Though they have won several international and national medals captaining India, CISF and State teams, due recognition eluded them.

Both the players started their handball career in 1994 from Thiruvananthapuram and until now have participated in several beach and indoor handball championships.

“We are in this field for the past 20 years. From the national championship, we received calls up to the National Handball Academy, Bhilai and from there we were recruited to the CISF Handball team,” says Anand, a native of the capital. “We were able to win the two commonwealth championships held in South Africa and England, in 1996 and 1997.

We have also participated in a number of international competitions and Binu was the captain of the senior team for the past several years,” says Anand.

Binu, from Mavelikkara, was also a team member of the Indian team that won the first Beach Handball South Asian Championship held in Sri Lanka in 2011. Both represented the Indian team in the Guangzhou Asian Games.

However, both players think India will have to do a lot more to improve in handball. “Several small countries and poorer nations are better than us in Handball. Though we have talented players we lack the facilities to train them.

Handball is an indoor game but it’s played, seen, and trained in India as an outdoor game. This is a serious shortcoming,” says Binu.

“This difference is felt when we go on foreign trips. The teams there play in indoor facility and come after rigorous training camps. We (Indian team) go for the championships training for one month in outdoor courts,” said Binu. “For the betterment of the game, there must also be more opportunities for the state team players.

If there are no department teams, the game would not have been handball in the country,” says Binu.
Though they have won several medals for the nation, both players did not receive any recognition from the state government as well as the central government.

“If there was no support from CISF, we would have stopped the game a long time back. Several youngsters are trying hard to find the support to advance in the game,” said Anand.