Himachal: Girls won gold in handball, this is Barwal’s second gold

Himachal Pradesh: Following in the footsteps of the kabaddi girls, the state’s women’s handball team defeated Haryana in the final to win their second consecutive gold medal at the National Games being played in Uttarakhand. “The handball team defeated Haryana girls to win their second consecutive gold medal at the National Games. They won 45-39,” Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association secretary Rajesh Bhandari said. Bhandari further said long-distance runner Sawan Barwal has won her second gold at the Games. The athlete won gold in the 5,000m race today after winning gold in the 10,000m event a few days ago. “Our athletes are performing quite well in this edition of the National Games,” Bhandari said. Praising the girls, handball coach Sneh Lata said the girls won their matches quite easily in the group stages before defeating Haryana in a closely contested final. “We had defeated Haryana in the final of the last National Games as well. So, it felt really good to beat them again and win our second consecutive gold,” the coach said. He further added that the girls from the state are doing quite well at the international level as well. “Many of our girls were part of the Indian team that participated in the recent Asian Games and Asian Championships,” he said. “We don’t have an indoor hall to practice in the state. If we get an indoor hall, our girls will perform even better,” he said. He thanked the Himachal Pradesh Olympic Association for its support in selecting a good team for the Games. “We faced some selection related problems, but the HPOA ensured that the best girls were selected for the Games,” the coach said.