Handball has drama of Bollywood masala film, says Maharashtra Ironmen head coach Sunil Gahlawat

The PHL champions' head coach spoke exclusively to Khel Now in an interview.

Sunil Gahlawat, the head coach of Maharashtra Ironmen in the Premier Handball League, sat down for an exclusive chat with Khel Now to discuss the various facets of the game. Gahlawat is a topper from the prestigious education institute NSNIS Patiala: Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports where he completed his diploma. From there, he went ahead to do a referee course for both domestic and international level.

The former DAV school Chandigarh coach has now his hands full coaching the Ironmen. His team Maharashtra Ironmen clinched the inaugural edition of the Premier Handball League, beating Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh 38-24 in the final.

Gahlawat spoke openly about the scene of handball in India, its development over the recent years and his prediction for the upcoming Asian Games. Here are the excerpts from the interview.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyZ4v_iHNxo&t=407s

Journey to the sport

Gahlawat spoke about his introduction to the sport. "Handball came into India in 1972 while my foray into the game started only 10 years later. Earlier I was very much into football, but then I found out multiple similarities between the two games. All the skills and technicalities involved in football are also what you need to be a successful handball player. Moreover, it is a full contact sport, so it provides all the outlet for emotions which really captivated me.

"It has all the components of a Bollywood "masala" film. So I made the switch into this game. I got my diploma and certifications in the sport and from then on have been busy rendering my coaching services. I have been coaching for over 20 years now. I was also the head coach of the junior team, which won its first gold medal in the Asian Championships and I was glad to contribute for the country in some way," added the humble coach.

Thoughts on Premier Handball League

Gahlawat had nothing but praise for the Premier Handball League (PHL). "I think the PHL is on the level of World Championships. The management has been done perfectly as well as its publicity. The game is being liked by the people.

"The kids from the villages and schools are really loving this game. So this is good for handball in general. At this rate I am sure this game will gain immense popularity," said the optimistic coach.

Maharashtra Ironmen's brilliant form

Maharashtra Ironmen notched up a scintillating run in the PHL. The team went all the way, lifting the trophy in a show of utter dominance. Speaking of which, the head coach divulged some secrets to his change of tactics. "We had some defensive errors and the first game clearly showed that to us. So, we decided to avoid those defensive lapses.

"Once that was done and the players adjusted to the environment, my job became easy. The team played as a unit and hopefully we will keep on producing some more spectacular performances."

Gap between foreign and Indian players

The coach also opened up about the different training styles between the players from India and abroad. "Their (foreign) training structure and regimen are very different. They play with a different kind of approach. They use glue which is called resin and they have that adaptation to it. It totally varies the throw in skill.

"So, if that can be learnt, it will definitely improve the skills of our players. The players we have at our disposal are very intelligent and they pick up things quickly."

Prediction about India handball team's performance at Asian Games

The victorious coach provided his predictions for India's performances in the upcoming Asian Games. "There are many who are performing well right now in India in the handball circuit. The Indian goalkeeper and captain Atul Kumar is in very good touch at the moment. Rahul DK is also another goalkeeper who is doing exceptionally well.

"So I believe this year our performance will be much better compared to our previous exploits."

Dressing room environment

The coach also spilled some beans on how his dressing room is before and after games. The Chandigarh man added, "We don't care much about the results. Of course, winning is important, but what is more crucial is how we employ our tactics in the game.

"Working on the mistakes we make and making necessary changes is what we focus on more as a team. Before our consecutive win streak, we lost a game and that was because we made a lot of critical errors. I did a lot of analysis on that game. One more important thing to keep in mind is to play according to the referee's direction. Because we follow the Indian style of play, while the referees follow the Asian guidelines, so sometimes that creates a hindrance."

Maintaining endurance and power

Handball is a high octane game that requires both endurance and power so the training has to focus on both those aspects as well. "The training is rigorous no doubt, but this game requires more explosive strength on the player's part. You have to make jump shots, quick passes and dribbles so muscle building isn't the primary objective."

Impact of PHL

The coach shared his two cents on how the PHL will impact the sport of handball in India and beyond. "PHL will greatly help in improving the quality of handball in India. Our ball movement and passing techniques are getting better. The foreign players don't break their shoulders and make passes, which is also very effective for throw-ins. A trait which we are also trying to imbibe."

"The throw-ins is one area where we severely fall behind. The rest is all fine, in fact I dare say our players are quite ahead of the foreign players when it comes to the individual skills," concluded the master strategist of the Ironmen.