New Delhi: The inaugural edition of the Premier Handball League (PHL) will be held from December 24 to January 10, the Handball Federation of India (HFI) said on Sunday. The matches will take place at the Sawan Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan.
The inaugural season will be an 18-day men’s event consisting of 30 league matches followed by three knockout games. The six teams representing the six states that will take part are Telangana Tigers, UP Icons, Maharashtra Handball Hustlers, KingHawks Rajasthan, Bengal Blues and Punjab Pitbulls. Each team consists of 14 players and over 80 players are set to take part in the league.
“This is going to be a significant moment in the Indian handball history as the Premier Handball League will infuse fresh breath to the sport which has immense potential at grassroot level,” said HFI president Arshnapally Jagan Mohan Rao said at the launch of the PHL in Jaipur on Saturday.
“The league will bring exciting competition among the players as well as help build handball as a brand. Handball already enjoys huge popularity globally and as a federation our vision is to create a similar holistic growth story in India too,” he said.
PHL co-promoters Aseem Merchant and Manu Agrawal and CEO Mrinalini Sharma were also present at the launch alongwith HFI Vice President Anandeshwar Pandey, Rajiv Arora, Vice President of Rajasthan Pradesh Congress. The PHL India Sports Private Limited is the official license holder of the league.
Sony Pictures Sports Network and FanCode are broadcasters for the league with live streaming available on Airtel TV, Jio TV and Sony Liv.
