HANDBALL has been a den to perpetrate controversy time and again and it was proved yet again at the National Games.
With the powers that be allowing the host an undue leverage over the technical conduct of the game, competition was pushed to the rear as conflict and contention took the centrestage.
Cacophony preluded Punjab's two gold medal wins in the National Games handball competition which could well have been avoided. But, the officials of the Handball Federation of India (HFI) played the tune that Punjab wanted to listen, and helped add to the general theory that the referees were not particularly neutral.
Considered to be the second fastest Olympic sport after ice hockey, this body-contact game has generated unwanted history at the National Games. With the repeat of the fracas again, it was high time the HFI took drastic steps to improve the standard of refereeing. It is also necessary for the HFI officials to stand by the decisions given by the referees.
There was hardly any explanation to the decision of the technical bench, which forced referee Poonam Rai to change her ruling in the women's final between Punjab and Chhattisgarh. Poonam found herself at the receiving end and on Punjab's protest the scoreline was revised.
Having beaten the National and defending champion Kerala in the semifinals, Punjab was tipped to be the favourite. But, as luck would have it, Chhattisgarh began well and took the lead in the first half. Just before half-time, Chhattisgarh scored on a penalty throw to open up a two-point lead (10-8).
Punjab wouldn't have it. Coach Harinder Sharma jumped in protest and shouted at the technical bench and the referees. For a person who uses unsavoury language even while talking to his women players, any decent behaviour was hardly expected of him. After about 15 minutes of reasoning, the match re-started with the scoreline changed to 10-9. From then on, no expert was needed to foretell the result. Punjab captain Gurpreet Purewal emerged the top scorer with 12 goals as the host won 24-21.
More drama was to follow later."Only Services could have provided a real fight to Punjab in Punjab. The way they have been handling the matters, such an outburst was of their own making," said the manager of one of the teams.
In a hotly contested men's final, Punjab was placed in a comfortable 20-15 lead when things started to move fast. Defending champion Services exerted pressure by equalising at 22-22 with its top scorer Praseed Kumar in the forefront. With the match in the final minutes, Services surged ahead by one point through Praseed.
Clamorous chanting by Punjab fans and the equally loud roars from the Services supporters left the indoor complex of the Guru Nanak Stadium reverberating. Punjab shot back immediately through Satvinder Pal Singh and tied the scores 23-23.
It was anybody's match. Notwithstanding the debatable decisions by the referees earlier, the match should have been allowed to take its own course. But, with less than a minute left, a penalty throw was awarded to Punjab on a foul that did not warrant such measure.
As the Services players showed displeasure over the decision, pandemonium let loose. Young army recruits sporting their camouflage uniforms jumped from the gallery into the playing area and ran towards the officials wielding their service belts. Punjab Police security wouldn't have anything to do with it. Quietly, they retreated as the armymen were in one of their nasty moods.
While the HFI officials grappled with the situation, credit must go to the Services players who helped cool down their angry colleagues. The recruits returned to the designated gallery, but the match could not be re-started as the Punjab officials and the referees were annoyed at the way the Services' supporters behaved.
What transpired during the mediation is anybody's guess. The chairman of the HFI Referee Board Anandeshwar Pandey forged peace as both the sides agreed to re-start the match. The controversial penalty throw was taken by Raja Rao and he netted in to give Punjab a 24-23 lead.
In return, Services raided the Punjab goal, and in what seemed to be a solution worked out before the teams took the field, a penalty throw was awarded to Services. Punjab goalkeeper Raghu Gurung must have had great belief in himself as he kicked out the throw taken by T. P. Lalu just as the final whistle blew.
Meanwhile, the reign of Kerala women as the defending and the National champion came to an end as Manipur claimed the bronze medal in the third-place play-off. Manipur, silver medallist in the 1999 National Games, thrashed Kerala 31-16 with its aggressive play.
National men's champion Madhya Pradesh, whose participation itself came under scrutiny after Karnataka's protest about the domicile of its players, won the bronze medal beating Jammu and Kashmir 26-23.
In the semifinals, Madhya Pradesh was beaten by Services while Punjab overcame Jammu and Kashmir.
The results:Men: Final: Punjab 24 (Naveen Kumar 9, Raja Rao 7, Jaswant Singh 3) beat Services 23 (Praseed Kumar 8, Mishra 5, T. P. Lalu 4).
Third-place play-off: Madhya Pradesh 26 (Binu V. 8, Firoz 4, Kunal 4, Anil 4) beat Jammu and Kashmir 23 (Ranjeet Singh 8, Akshay 6, Vikas 5, Raj Kumar 3).
Semifinals: Services 26 (Praseed Kumar 8, Rajesh 6, Naveen Yadav 3, Sajesh 3, R. Mehta 3) beat Madhya Pradesh 20 (Firoz Khan 5, Kunal 5, Binu V. 4); Punjab 29 (Jaswant Singh 8, Kulwinder Singh 6, Satwinder Pal Singh 4, Jasprath Singh 3, Naveen Kumar 3) beat Jammu and Kashmir 23 (Ranjeet Singh 6, Dheeraj Nagpal 5, Raj Kumar 4, Bachan Dogra 3, Vikas Sharma 3).
Women: Final: Punjab 24 (Karamjit Kaur 4, Gurpreet 12, Baljit Kaur 3) beat Chhattisgarh 21 (Meenakshi 6, Anita Yadav 7).
Third-place play-off: Manipur 31 (Kamala 7, Sandhya 6, Sarjubala 4) beat Kerala 16 (Usha Nandini 4, Sheeba 3, Seena 3).
Semifinals: Chhattisgarh 22 (Meenakshi 6, Amita 7, Juliet 3) beat Manipur 21 (Kamla 5, Boby 4, Dama 4); Punjab 22 (Gurpreet Kaur 12, Harvinder Kaur 5, Karamjit Kaur 3) beat Kerala 19 (Usha Nandini 7, Mini M. R. 3, Sheeba P. V. 5).
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