New Delhi: India is ready to launch its first skilled Women’s Handball League at an funding of ₹100 crore over the subsequent three years. Pavna Sports Venture, a part of Pavna Industries Ltd, has inked a decade-long partnership with the South Asian Handball Federation for the league, aiming for a launch in January 2025.

This league marks solely the second skilled sports activities league devoted to girls in India, following the Women’s Premier League for cricket.

Despite handball’s standing as an Olympic sport since 1972 and its widespread reputation in Europe, it has but to achieve vital traction in India.

The upcoming Women’s Handball League plans to host six groups, with a schedule of 30 round-robin matches and three knockout video games, specializing in infrastructure growth, expertise scouting, and training initiatives.

Priya Jain, chairperson of Pavna Sports Venture, highlighted the league’s potential for monetary sustainability and its strategic institution beneath the steerage of the South Asian Handball Federation, Asian Handball Federation, and with assist from the Handball Association of India. Jain is optimistic concerning the league’s profitability and its attraction, particularly in rural India the place the game enjoys reputation.

In 2022, India’s media commercials spend, together with on-ground and workforce sponsorships together with superstar endorsements, surpassed ₹14,000 crore, with cricket dominating 85% of this funding, as per a GroupM report.

Anandeshwar Pandey, league chairperson of the Handball Association of India, believes the game’s recognition in rural areas will contribute to the league’s success. “Rural India will discover quite a lot of resonance with this sport. We goal to raise the usual of girls’s handball in India and supply our athletes with a world-class platform to compete on the highest degree,” he stated.

Besides this, Pavna Sports additionally owns the Golden Eagles handball workforce in Uttar Pradesh, a part of the lads’s Handball Premier League.

This is the second league to launch within the month. Last week, the Asian Legends League, a cricket league of just lately retired cricketers organised by World Sports Group Private Ltd, was introduced.

With 20-25 energetic personal sports activities leagues, together with main leagues just like the Indian Premier League for cricket and rising ones just like the Ultimate Kho Kho and Prime Volleyball League, India’s sports activities scene is quickly evolving. However, out of those, solely 10-12 leagues have achieved business success and stability, highlighting the potential for development and the event {of professional} sports activities throughout numerous disciplines within the nation.