New Delhi [India], December 10 : Members of the Indian women's handball team reflected on their heartbreaking loss against China and laid down their next target after their campaign in the Asian Women's Handball Championship (AWHC) 2024 concluded on a bitter yet promising note.
The Indian women's handball team secured sixth at the AWHC 2024 here in the national capital, matching their highest-ever finish in the competition following a 41-30 defeat against China on Tuesday.
Team coach Kartikeyan admitted that players made a couple of errors throughout the match, which allowed China to take the lead in the match and eventually seal the victory.
"I am not feeling that much happy. We wanted to secure the bronze medal, but due to some mistakes from the players, we were not able to overcome Iran. Now we played for fifth and sixth position against China, and we were expecting to overcome China also, but in the game, they made blunders. That allowed China to take a lead over India," he told ANI.
He admitted that the team didn't have enough time to prepare for the tournament, and their long-term plan will be to give players enough days for the Asian Games 2026.
"In Asian Games 2026, we have to make a long-term plan. We will be having more number days of camp for players to prepare in all manners. This time, we got a limited number of days," he added.
Handball Association of India executive director Anandeshwar Panday felt the team performed well considering the limited number of days they had for preparation and resources.
"Our team played despite a limited number of days for practice. Our players played well, considering the assistance that they got. Our target is to give as many games as we can give to players, which will give them experience and improve their game," Panday noted.
Sushma felt the experience was good, but they could have performed better against Iran, which would have allowed them to compete in the semi-finals and make their experience even better.
"The experience was good, but we could have done better. We lost to Iran by a two-goal difference. If we could have recovered in that match then we could have played the semi-final, and it could have made the experience much better," she said.
Just like her coach, Sushma acknowledged the defensive flaws within the team. She feels if they managed to improve their defensive side of the game then a top-three finish in the next edition of the Asian Games could be a possibility.
"We need to improve on our defence, and if we are able to achieve it, we can finish in the Top 3 in the Asian Games 2026," she added.
Captain Diksha affirmed that the entire team gave its all to secure victory, but it wasn't enough to get them past the finishing line.
"We gave everything, but we couldn't win the game against China. All of us played well and tried to win the game," Diksha remarked.
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