Under protest, Indian team plays Pakistan in Asian handball
India played Pakistan in the 10th
Asian Beach Handball Championships
in Oman's Muscat on Friday amid a widening conflict between the two countries.
The Indians wore black armbands during the league fixture, but were told by the organisers and
Asian Handball Federation
(
AHF
) to remove them, sources told TOI. The organisers told the Indian coaching staff that such a gesture would lead to the removal of the team from the tournament.
The Indian contingent had at first considered boycotting the fixture due to fears of public backlash at home, but decided to go ahead after AHF warned it of a ban and a significant fine.
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'As per the International Handball Federation's (IHF) charter, we would have to pay a fine of $10,000 if we boycotted the match. We also faced the prospect of a two-year ban from international competitions. The AHF told us categorically that if the Indian team didn't turn up for the match, it would be counted against the spirit of
Olympic charter
. We were left with no other option,' Anandeshwar Pandey, Executive Director of the
Handball Federation of India
(HFI), told TOI.
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India lost the pool match 0-2 at the Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex.
'Before the start of the match, the HFI had written separate letters to the sports ministry and
Indian Olympic Association
(IOA), seeking their guidance whether we should play Pakistan or not. They didn't immediately respond to our mail and the match was upon us. There's no clear advisory from the govt which stops the Indian teams from playing Pakistan. Had there been one, we would have pulled the team out of the competition.
'The entries for the event were sent months in advance and the Indian men's and women's teams had landed in Muscat for the tournament on May 5. We didn't know that the situation between the two nations would turn hostile. There's a possibility that the two teams might meet each other again in the same event, at the semifinal or final stage. We are awaiting the ministry and IOA's advisory on this. If it doesn't come in the coming days, we will tell our team to forfeit the next match against Pakistan, if it happens at all,' added Pandey.
The final of the tournament will be played on May 15. The competition will serve as a qualification tournament for the Beach Handball World Championship in 2026.
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