Premier Handball League 2023: Maharashtra Ironmen team profile

The PHL 2023 will kick-off from June 8 at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur.

Maharashtra Ironmen, owned by Punit Balan Group, will look to make an impact in the upcoming Premier Handball League (PHL) starting from June 8, 2023 at the Sawai Mansingh Indoor Stadium in Jaipur, Rajasthan. Considered as the second fastest Olympic Sport after Ice Hockey, Handball always creates an exciting spectacle for the viewers and the Maharashtra Ironmen players are capable of doing the same in the tournament.

The team have a great good mixture of experience and youth which could produce fantastic results in the tournament. On that note, let's take a look at the players of Maharashtra Ironmen:

Head Coach

Sunil Gahlawat

Hometown: Chandigarh

DOB: 14/7/1982

“Without discipline we can’t achieve anything”

Sunil Kumar is a true sportsperson who has loved Handball all his life and dreams to be always associated with Handball for the longest time possible. A topper from the prestigious education institute NSNIS Patiala: Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports where he completed his diploma and went ahead to do referee courses for both domestic and international level. 

His glorious coaching journey into handball started in the year 2007 for DAV school Chandigarh in school nationals and has been associated for 20 long years now. As a player, he has represented India in 3 tournaments among which 2 were in Sweden and 1 in Germany where he won Bronze.

Assistant Coach

Ajay Kumar Dabas

D.O.B : 07-10-1993

Hometown: Jhajjar, Haryana 

Ajay started his sporting career as a basketball player when he was in 4th standard but one day while watching some kids play handball near the village ground he developed a liking for the game and switched to handball when he was in 7th and hasn't looked back ever since. He played handball for his school at district, state and national levels.

Ajay switched to coaching in 2016 and has coached various teams ever since. Although he had switched to coaching in 2016, Ajay was presented an opportunity to represent the Indian team for the first time in 2019 and he not only managed to get his debut but also bagged a Silver Medal at the Independence Cup in Tashkent. Ajay has been coaching for 7 years now.

Players

Igor Chiseliov

Position: Left Back 

Hometown: Republic of Moldova 

DOB: 28/08/1992

Igor Chiseliov, a talented handball player, hails from the Republic of Moldova. Born on August 28, 1992, Igor discovered his passion for handball at the age of 12. Initially, he had been focused on football, but during the winter season when the football ground was covered in snow, a coach noticed his tall height and invited him to try handball. 

Once he made the switch, Igor never looked back and fully dedicated himself to handball. Throughout his career, Igor Chiseliov has played in various countries, including Russia, Israel, Turkey, France, Slovakia, and Iran. Among his many experiences, his time in France and Slovakia holds a special place in his heart. Furthermore, Igor has had the honour of representing the national team of the Republic of Moldova.

Currently, Igor is embarking on his first stint in India, eager to compete and contribute to his new team.

Aman Nain

Position: Left Winger 

Hometown: Jind distt Narwana, Haryana

DOB: 07/01/1998

Aman Nain, a talented handball player, has made significant strides in the sport. He has established himself as a formidable force on the handball court, particularly in the position of Left Winger.Aman's journey in handball began in 2009 when he was sent to a hostel in Sirsa to pursue a better future. 

Coming from a background where academic opportunities were limited, Aman found solace and hope in sports. He has proudly represented Haryana in national handball competitions, showcasing his skills and dedication to the sport. Despite his commitment to handball, he is also a final-year BA student and has been serving in the Army since 2018, balancing his educational and professional responsibilities alongside his athletic pursuits.

Shubham Kumar

Hometown: Agra, UP

Position in the game: Pivot

DOB: 28.11. 2000

Guided by passion & determination Shubham's journey is a roller coaster ride. From a family of engineers & doctors, Shubham dared to dream of a career in handball. However, IT was not until 2014 that Shubham finally decided to go one step ahead and give the trial for SAI Gujarat. Knowing that his parents won't allow him to go Shubham left his house and went for trial without informing anyone and got selected.

For the next 7 years, Shubham stayed in SAI Gujarat and gave his everything to Handball. He has represented India twice & made his India debut in 2018 against Pakistan in IHF Cup as a U-21 player. 

Sumit Kumar 

Hometown: Bhiwani, Haryana 

Position in the game: Center Back

DOB: 2.1. 2003

Coming from a district where handball is quite popular it was no brainer for young Sumit to try his luck in handball. Sumit started handball in 2016 and it didn't take him long to make an impact as he participated in U-14 school games & in 2017 got selected in SAI Gujarat. 

Sumit has represented SAI & Gujarat at various levels in sub-junior, junior & senior level winning medals in all the categories. In the initial years while travelling for the state & district level tournaments Sumit had to face financial difficulties but soon as he started winning local tournaments with the prize money pouring in things became easier. 

Vijay Singh

Hometown: Sirsa, Haryana 

Position in the game: Left Back

DOB: 1.9. 1998

Vijay started handball at the tender age of 12 when he was in his 7th standard. He played at the district level a few times while in school but with no scope further he decided to shift to Punjab for better opportunities and got selected after the trials. problems started arising with no proper facilities Vijay decided to move once again this time to Rajasthan. He made his India debut in 2016 as a Junior player in a cup tournament held in Sweden & Denmark. Since then Vijay has represented India 7 times playing in various competitions which include SAFF game in 2019 & Asian Championship in 2022.

Vijay joined the Airforce in 2018 & is currently posted in Chandigarh.

Sunil

Hometown: Bhiwani, Haryana 

Position: Right wing.

D.O.B: 02-01-2003

Sunil discovered handball in his school and was immediately hooked. He started playing in 2016 & initially practised in his village for some time until he decided to give trials for SAI Gujarat where he was selected in 2018. Sunil along with his brother Sumit has represented Sai and Gujarat at various levels in Junior and Senior level bringing glory in all categories.

Sumit Ghanghas

Hometown: Bhiwani, Haryana 

D.O.B: 12-02-2001

Position: Left Wing

Sumit started playing Handball in 2013 in his village. Handball is quite famous in his village and Sumit could not stay away from the buzz. Even to this day around 150-200 people practice for handball daily in his village.  

Sumit was impressive in his u14 Nationals in 2014 wherein he won the Silver. The Coaches were so impressed with his skills and potential they insisted on him joining the SAI hostel. He has represented India five times all at the junior level with his first time being in the u18 team that went to Sweden & Denmark in 2016. 

Vishal Kumar Dabas

Position: Left Back

D.O.B: 5-05-1995

Hometown: Jhajjar, Haryana

Coming from a small town in Haryana where handball was pretty famous, Vishal had his eyes set on becoming a handball player himself. Vishal's father is a farmer while his mother is a housewife. 

Vishal had always seen handball being played in his village ever since he was a kid. At the age of 13 he decided to get involved in the beautiful game himself. Vishal started playing handball around 2008 and has been playing ever since. Vishal played at the district, state and Senior national levels for Haryana. He has played at the Senior National level thrice during 2015, 2016 and 2018. 

Mohammed Sohail Akhtar

D.O.B: 27-8-1994

Hometown: 

Jamshedpur, Jharkhand,

Position: Right Back

During an inter-school tournament, a coach from Tata Steel Company spotted Mohammed's potential and invited him to join the Tata Sports Handball Academy. 

He played there for two years in 2006 and 2007. During this stint, he performed exceptionally well at a sub-junior nationals event in Mumbai and was invited for National handball academy trials in Chhattisgarh. National Handball Academy is the only handball academy in India and Mohammed was amongst the 20 people selected from a pool of 280. 

In 2009, he made his Indian team debut at the Youth Asian Handball Championship held in Jordan. The following year he was supposed to captain the team in South Africa for the Youth Asian Handball Championship but faced an eye injury during camp which had him removed from the tournament altogether.

Ranjit Singh

D.O.B: 10-05-1987

Hometown: Patiala, Punjab

Position: Pivot

Ranjit was the first guy from his family to take up a career in Sports. His parents are both hard-working farmers but Ranjit had other plans. At the young age of 14 he started playing handball at his village & later with school started competing in tournaments and competitions.

Ranjit played at Junior Nationals in 2005 and 2006 followed by his first Senior Nationals in 2008 which led to him playing around 23 Nationals in total. His Indian team debut came in 2019 and was also part of the Asian championship squad in Qatar in 2020. In 2009, he injured his ligament which put him out of the sport for a year but he bounced back and competed in consecutive nationals after the injury.

Ankit Kumar

Hometown: Hisar, Haryana

D.O.B: 03-01-1999

Position: Right-wing

Ankit started playing Handball at the ripe age of 11 in 2011. Ankit was always athletic and played hockey for two years before switching to handball. In 2012 he played his first mini-national (u12) & upwards journey continued with u14, u17, u19, junior & senior nationals.

He made his debut for the Indian Junior team at the Asian Junior Handball Championship held in Jordan in 2016 and went on to play 11 times for India. He also made his debut for the senior team in 2018 at the Senior Asian Championship in Korea.

Mohit Punia

D.O.B: 20-03-2004

Hometown: Bhiwani, Haryana

Position: Right Back

Handball is pretty famous in Bhiwani and Mohit was attracted when he was a teenager as he started playing when he was just 14. Mohit impressed everyone with his skills at the Sub-junior nationals representing Chattisgarh which earned him an invite for the National handball academy trials. He eventually got selected and joined the academy in 2019. Mohit made his Junior Nationals and Senior Nationals debut in the same year (2019) . Mohit joined the Indian Navy in 2021 and has been practicing and working harder than ever. 

Naveen Deshwal

Home Town: Sirsa, Haryana ( born in Panipat )

D.o.B.: 21.3.1999

Position of Playing: Goalkeeper

Naveen was introduced to Handball at the mere age of 15 when he was in his school at his hometown Sirsa and felt immense attraction towards the same. He started playing handball in school when he was in 8th standard, with Amanpreet Kaur as his coach. In 2015 he decided to take his game one level up & attended the trials at the National Handball Academy in Chhattisgarh, Bhilai where he matriculated and trained for 3 years. Naveen has represented India twice making his debut as the u18 player at the Partille Cup in Sweden & Denmark in 2016 & his senior debut at the 22nd Asian Club League held in Hyderabad.

Manjeet Kumar

DOB: 15/06/1992 

Hometown: Dhanana, Bhiwani , Haryana

Position: Left back & centre back 

Coming from a family of farmers Manjeet lost his father in a road accident when he was just 7 years old. Father’s death came as a big shock for the whole family especially for his mother who was struggling with the news. It was not easy for young Manjeet but his relatives & other family members came as a guiding light. He joined handball as a 10-year-old inspired by the athletes from his village who won medals at the National and International level.

In 2002, he represented Haryana and played 2 nationals and 2 state-level matches. In 2007, Manjeet gave trials for National Handball Academy (NHA) & joined the academy in 2008. Playing for NHA Manjeet made his senior nationals debut in 2008 and continued to represent them before joining Army.

Rajat Khatkar

DOB: 15-07-1998

Hometown: Hisar Haryana

Position goalkeeper 

Rajat’s journey in handball started when he changed schools in his 5th class at the age of 11 and was introduced to handball through an inter-house competition

Within 4 months of playing handball, Rajat was representing his school at District and mini-state level. The very next year in 2010 he played u14 state, mini-nationals and continued to be part of the mini-national team for three consecutive years after that. 

Rajat was part of the Haryana team that won the historic bronze medal in the 2019 senior nationals after a gap of 30 years. He has represented India twice making his debut in the 2017 Copper Box international handball cup and has also competed in Asian Championship in 2022.

Sushil Boora

DOB: 04/12/2000

Hometown: Hisar Haryana

Position Left Winger 

Coming from a sporting family, with his village being the home of World Champion boxer Saweety Boora, Sushil has inherited a passion for sports from his family lineage. His father, grandfather, and uncle were all handball players, and the village has always been supportive of the sport.

Sushil's journey in handball began at the age of 13 when he first picked up the sport. His dedication and skill quickly caught the attention of coaches, and by the age of 15, he was selected to join the Ludhiana Sports Authority of India (SAI) center. Representing Punjab, he showcased his talent in various competitions.