36th Senior National Women’s Handball

Assam out of meet, Manipur in quarter-finals:

Guwahati, Dec. 16: Hosts Assam bowed out of the 36th Senior National Women’s Handball Championship on Sunday evening after drawing their last league encounter with Chhattisgarh 11-11, even as the sponsorship crisis deepened for the organisers.

Assam ended its Group C engagements with three losses and two wins. The hosts defeated Madhya Pradesh and Orissa but lost their matches against Himachal Pradesh, Delhi and Chandigarh.

The quarter-finals line was also drawn up today. Defending champions Railways remained at the top of the list, closely followed by Maharashtra.

The quarter-finals draw will see Manipur, the only team from the Northeast in the last eight, taking on Chhattisgarh, All India University team will play Punjab, Delhi will meet Haryana and Railways will clash with Maharashtra.

However, it is not only the disappointment of the team not doing well that the organisers -- Assam Handball Association -- have to deal with.

The handball association’s president Kalyan Gogoi said the national meet has met with very lukewarm response, with major sponsors like Oil India Ltd (OIL), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Numaligarh Refinery Ltd (NRL) and industrial houses turning down the request for sponsorship.

“Of the Rs 18 lakh budget, only Assam Gas Company Ltd and DS Group has honoured our request. The others, like OIL, ONGC, NRL and IOC, have turned down our request. We would have been happy with whatever contributions they made. It is very sad as we were pinning our hopes on the big houses,” he rued.

Asked how the tournament was coping without support, Gogoi added, “It is because of well-wishers and support from fellow state associations like kabaddi, volleyball and GSA. Sadly, the Assam Cricket Association was very unhelpful when approached for help. The government has promised help of Rs 1.5 lakh but we will still fall short by nearly Rs 3 lakh”.

The lack of interest in the tournament is surprising, Gogoi said, because OIL, ONGC, NRL and IOC had extended over Rs 50 lakh towards the hosting of the international badminton meet.

A source in the oil sector said there was no question of turning down requests. “We always help in whatever way possible. Maybe there was very little time between applying for assistance and disbursal,” the source said.

Posted On: The Telegraph