Numerous activities featured during the International Handball Week

While the W19 EHF EURO 2023 was in full fledge in Romania over the International Handball Week, with the top European stars featuring on the courts in Pitești and Mioveni, handball was also celebrated throughout other continents, in all its forms, from indoor to beach, with several federations organising special events over the last days.

After securing the title in the Asian Championships in both the men's senior and youth men's beach handball in 2022, the sport has become more and more popular in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with a clear aim of developing even further, by putting and emphasis on the women's teams.

During International Handball Week, the Iranian Handball Federation organised several competitions for all age categories, where tens of players featured on the sandy courts trying to create a better environment for the development of the sport.

Undoubtedly, the star was Fatemeh Khalili Behfar, the goalkeeper of the Iran women's senior national team in indoor handball, who captured the souls of the handball fans during the 2021 IHF Women's World Championship when she was named the hummel Player of the Match in the preliminary round match against Norway.

Handball has been improving in the Islamic Republic of Iran, with the youth and junior women's teams making their debut at the IHF Women's World Championship in 2022, while the senior men's team also made a comeback in the world handball flagship event in January.

Activities were also specially organised in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for International Handball Week, where over 60 players and coaches came together in the Handball Gymnasium in Pyongyang, with a showcase of physical elementary training, basic technical motion and a competition between two sides.

Another emerging country in Asia, Pakistan, has held exhibition matches at the Agriculture University Handball Stadium in Faisalabad, with the Acting Secretary General of the Pakistan Handball Federation, Sohaib Shafiq, being present at the Under-16 matches, featuring both boys and girls.

The International Handball Week was also celebrated in Syria, where the emphasis is clearly put on the younger age categories, trying to teach the children handball, in order to create better players in a better system. During the last week, there were several activities involving young children, both boys and girls, who clearly enjoyed featuring on the court and trying to improve themselves with this occasion, dreaming about a future career in the sport.

Photo: Handball Federation Iran