The 3rd Asian Youth Games (AYG) in Manama marks a pivotal chapter for Indian handball one defined by renewed opportunity on the women’s side and administrative disappointment on the men’s.
As India’s U18 women’s team prepares to battle continental heavyweights like China, Iran, and Kazakhstan, the men’s team’s late withdrawal from the Games underscores an uncomfortable truth: while the sport is slowly finding competitive rhythm, it continues to be undermined by governance gridlock. This edition of the AYG the first since 2013 has been hailed as a reboot for Asian youth sport. For Indian handball, however, it carries a dual narrative: a return to continental relevance for the women’s team, and a missed chance at exposure for the boys’ side due to bureaucratic failure.
The women’s handball competition in Manama runs from October 21–30, 2025, featuring seven nations: China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Thailand, Hong Kong–China, and India. All matches will be held at the BFA Futsal Hall in Isa Sports City, a venue that’s become the centerpiece of Bahrain’s hosting ambitions. For India, this event comes at a crucial developmental moment. The same U18 squad finished 7th at the 2025 Asian Women’s Youth Championship in Jinggangshan, China a result that exposed gaps against the continent’s elite but also showcased flashes of promise.
The Games thus offer both a redemption arc and a reality check: India must prove it can close the 10–12 goal deficit it often faces against stronger opponents.
Group Stage: A Balanced But Demanding Draw
India will play six group-stage matches a marathon round-robin that tests endurance as much as skill.
The fixtures set the tone for India’s ambitions:
Date Opponent Outlook
Oct 20 Uzbekistan 🇺🇿 Winnable – must capitalize on UZB’s instability.
Oct 21 Kazakhstan 🇰🇿 Decisive – the key match that could define India’s final standing.
Oct 25 Thailand 🇹🇭 Mandatory win – critical for points and goal difference.
Oct 27 Hong Kong 🇭🇰 Strong opportunity – India beat HK 36–15 earlier this year.
Oct 28 Iran 🇮🇷 A test of progress – minimizing goal difference is the target.
Oct 30 China 🇨🇳 Exposure game – facing the continental powerhouse.
These fixtures create a realistic path toward a top-five finish, provided India secures victories against the mid-tier teams and limits damage against elite nations. The matches against Kazakhstan and Iran remain pivotal; success in either could elevate India into medal contention depending on format revisions.
Key Players and Leadership Structure
India’s women’s youth squad carries a blend of emerging U18 talent and experienced junior graduates. Among the standout names:
•Bhawana Sharma (Centre Back): The heartbeat of the team. Named Best Player at the 2022 Asian Junior Championships, she brings tactical vision and composure.
•Diksha Kumari (Goalkeeper): Senior team captain and SAF Games gold medallist, known for her penalty saves and leadership under pressure.
•Priyanka Thakur: One of the key attackers from India’s 2022 Junior Championship-winning side, offering attacking fluency and experience.
•Kanishka (Captain) and Naina (Vice-Captain): Young leaders from the domestic circuit providing structural stability and motivation.
The team is guided by Head Coach Arvind Kumar Yadav (Railways), with Manisha Rathore (Rajasthan) and Sachin Chaudhary as assistants a technically sound unit with prior experience at Asian and World Championships. This collective experience provides the tactical maturity India needs against structured opponents like Iran and China.
At the U18 Asian Championship (July 2025), India’s struggles were clear: heavy defeats to Korea (11–43) and Iran (30–42) exposed defensive gaps and issues in transition. However, the narrow 34–33 win over Kazakhstan by the Indian U20 team a month later offers a glimmer of optimism.
The AYG team’s realistic objective lies between those extremes. Against lower-ranked teams Hong Kong, Thailand, and Uzbekistan India must dominate to build confidence and improve goal differential. Against Iran and China, the goal is damage control through disciplined defense, minimizing turnovers, and maintaining tactical shape. If the team manages to replicate the U20’s competitive spirit and executes with consistency, a 5th-place finish remains within reach a result that would represent measurable progress at the youth level.
The Men’s Team Withdrawal: A Costly Setback
While the women’s team prepares for a rare continental campaign, the Indian Boys’ team’s withdrawal from the AYG stands as a sobering reminder of the sport’s systemic issues. Initially placed in Group B alongside China and Kuwait, the Indian team was removed from the final draw released on October 9, 2025. The reason: failure to receive clearance from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), which continues to enforce its contentious “Top 8 Rule.”
This policy restricting participation in multi-sport events to teams ranked among Asia’s top eight has long hindered developmental squads. The rule mirrors the 2018 episode when India’s senior men’s team had to approach the Allahabad High Court for permission to compete in the Asian Games. The decision is doubly frustrating because the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) had confirmed India’s eligibility and included the team in the official draw. The last-minute administrative block thus denied an entire generation of U17 players their first international exposure just weeks after the conclusion of the inaugural Asian U17 Men’s Championship.
Such governance paralysis not only damages morale but also wastes developmental investment made through national camps and selection trials.
Governance, Policy, and the Need for Reform
The Indian handball ecosystem remains plagued by internal feuds and policy inconsistencies. The Handball Federation of India (HFI) has endured years of factional conflict, legal injunctions, and leadership disputes, often leading to event cancellations including handball’s exclusion from the 2022 National Games. Meanwhile, the IOA’s outdated participation policies continue to prioritize optics over development. The “Top 8” rule designed to control delegation size and focus on medal potential is fundamentally at odds with the purpose of youth competitions like the AYG, which exist primarily to nurture and expose emerging talent.
This structural rigidity not only contradicts the Asian Handball Federation’s developmental framework but also risks pushing India further behind its Asian peers. Without exposure at events like the AYG, bridging the performance gap becomes nearly impossible.
The story of Indian handball at the 2025 Asian Youth Games captures the sport’s paradox potential thriving on the court, but progress stifled off it. The women’s team, buoyed by leadership continuity and international experience, stands poised to deliver a respectable performance in Manama. The boys’ absence, however, serves as a cautionary tale about how fragile developmental momentum can be when policy and governance fail to align.
If Indian handball is to secure its future, the priorities are clear:
- Abolish the “Top 8” restriction for youth events.
- Unify federation governance under International Handball Federation compliance.
- Guarantee participation for all qualified teams, especially in developmental competitions.
For now, the spotlight rests on the women’s team not only to compete, but to symbolize what Indian handball can achieve when given a fair chance to play.
