Indian women's junior handball team wins maiden gold in Asian Championships

Asian junior championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan and qualifying for the world championships later this year. The Indian team beat Thailand 41-18 in its fourth and final match on Monday to top the five-team tournament. India finished on top of standings with six points -- from three wins and one loss.

The team beat Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, besides Thailand and lost to Iran. By virtue of the top-place finish, India qualified for the 23rd IHF Women's Junior World Championships to be held in Slovenia from June 22 to July 3. Handball Federation of India president A Jagan Mohan Rao and executive director Anandeshwar Pandey congratulated the team for its historic feat.

"India has never won a gold in any international level earlier, be it junior or senior. No doubt, we have won at South Asian level but not beyond that. We have not even reached final earlier.