Premier Handball League will change landscape of handball in India: Telugu Talons' Shubam Sheoran

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The inaugural season of the Premier Handball League (PHL) is going to be the latest addition to the ever-increasing sports league culture in the country. Handball has been one of the most intriguing Olympic sports and it has got all the ingredients to keep Indian audiences glued because of its fast pace and edge-of-the-seat thrillers.

The fast nature of the sport keeps everyone hooked as things can change in the blink of an eye and the first instalment of PHL - which starts June 8 - will see six teams in action.

Telugu Talons - who are based out of Hyderabad - are the only team in the tournament to have a foreign coach and a balance of Indian and overseas players. Telugu Talons' left-back Shubham Sheoran is eyeing to make a mark in the maiden season of the tournament.

Sheoran is optimistic about the positive buzz created by the league so far before the kick-off on June 8. In an exclusive conversation with MyKhel, Shubham (26) gave a peek at his journey in the sport and exuded confidence that PHL will help the game gets its due in India.

Hailing from humble beginnings in Hisar (Haryana), Sheoran - who comes from a farming background - went on to represent India and built a career in the sport - which isn't very popular in the country.

Narrating his journey in the sport, Sheoran said, "I am the lone international handball player from my village in handball. No one had even heard of the term handball in my village when I started pursuing it. Wrestling and boxing were the only popular sports back then. I developed an interest towards this game during my schooling in Hisar City. Since I had a naturally built physique of an athlete, the coaches encouraged me to take it seriously."

Sheoran revealed that the encouragement to pursue a career in sport came from the family's side but his parents wanted him to go after a known game.

"Due to the lack of awareness towards this game, my family asked me to switch to an individual sport but it slowly transformed into a passion and I couldn't think otherwise. Despite being one of the fastest sports in the world, there wasn't much awareness about this sport (and it is still an underrated game) in the country. My passion for the game and the guidance of coaches and seniors helped me to take a leap of faith," Sheoran said.

Reflecting upon the struggles in the early phase of his career, Sheoran says the experiences only made him stronger and also credited to the soil of Haryana - which inspires everyone to 'never give up'.

"I've had my fair share of struggles since childhood. I come from a middle-class family, my father is a farmer. So, I have faced a lot of hardships in the early stages of my career. There's something in the soil of Haryana, we give do not give up easily when we decide to accomplish something in life," Sheoran said.

A freak injury at the peak of his international career in 2017 did take his career off the track but a strong will and determination helped Sheoran make a comeback. "I attained my peak in 2017 when I first played my maiden international tournament.

"The exposure I received from overseas tours boosted my confidence, just when I was at the peak of my career, a knee injury in 2018 threw things out of gear. It was a freak injury when I went to appear for Army trials in Pune."

"As I was jobless, I had to personally take care of my rehabilitation. But things started taking a positive turn in 2019 when I got a job as a constable through sports quota in the Border Security Forces (BSF)," he stated.

Having regained his fitness, Sheoran went on to represent Haryana at the national level and the team clinched a gold medal in the senior nationals in Tamil Nadu that year. It was the first handball gold medal for the state team in 30 years.

"The second chance I got started bearing fruits slowly as I once again got to represent the nation at international competitions. I started getting offers from other departments as well, and in 2020 I resigned from BSF and joined Indian Railways. I was appointed as a Ticket Collector at New Delhi Railway Station," the Haryana athlete said.

Speaking about his PHL franchise Telugu Talons and the impact of PHL in the country, the Haryana athlete said, "I am lucky to be a part of the Telugu Talons franchise. The facilities we have been provided here are all state of the art. We never got such facilities before, we have a dedicated physio for the team which was never the case."

He hopes the advent of PHL will be a massive shot in the arm for the sport which is highly underrated despite being immensely popular in the other parts of the globe.

"If I talk about this tournament, then I am pretty optimistic about the future of the league in particular. Handball is an interesting game and the audience will love it. I am pretty sure that the popularity of PHL will change the landscape of handball in India. It will be the same as that of kabaddi and other home-grown indigenous sports leagues in the country. I am convinced that Indian Handball will take positive strides in the coming years."

Explaining the format and the overall look and feel of this tournament from the ones he and his peers have played in the past at home, he counted the difference and said, "At home, we play on the soil but PHL will be played on the mat and it will further increase the pace of the game. Even the balls with which we play at home are different from the 'gum balls' we get to play overseas.

"So the angle of release and the bounce (of the ball) changes. We'll get to play with the gum balls in PHL as well, so the overall standard of this tournament will be almost equal to the international standards. Furthermore, the presence of overseas players will improve the level of competition as well."

When asked about the vision and mission of Telugu Talons in the coming years and whether it is in sync with the league organisers, who wish to make it a smash-hit in the debut season, a team source informed MyKhel that the stakeholders have forrayed into this territory with the hopes of creating a lasting legacy, given everyone is on the same page.

"We are the only team to have a foreign coach, Fernando Miguel de Oliveira Nunes. He's from Portugal and is vastly experienced. He is an IHF-certified coach and has been associated with some of the best teams in the world, and worked with the best players in the business. So his presence and input to our players will do a great deal of good for the sport.

"Our Indian coach Sachin Bharadwaj has a wealth of experience in the sport. He's captained India and played so many international tournaments in the past. He commands a huge respect in the Indian Handball community and his presence in our coaching staff will be a massive boost," the team source said.

"We are trying to create a legacy for the sport. We will not stop once the tournament is over. We'll be looking for ways to promote the game at the grassroots level and harness young talents because if you wish a league to succeed you need to have a good talent pool. So our vision is to make these players household names and develop the sport. If all the teams share the same vision then slowly and steadily we will be able to create a good talent pool in the entire country," the source added further.

"We are making efforts for the sport to speak for itself. We are talking about popularising the second-fastest sport in the Olympics and the second-most popular sport in the Olympics after football. All our efforts are to ensure the sport, the players and the system gets is due respect," he signed off.