Members of the Demow Handball Club during a practice session in Sivasagar. File picture

Jorhat, Jan. 17: After Assam produced the first Arjuna awardee in Bhogeswar Barua, it’s time for Demow, a small township in Sivasagar district along the National Highway 37, to carve a niche for itself in handball.

The Demow Handball Club has been producing talented handball players, who have been shining bright in the national and international circuits in the last few years.

A group of six, three girls and as many boys, from the club will represent Assam in the National Rural Championship at Aurangabad in Maharashtra from January 19.

Talking to The Telegraph, the club’s coach Manjur Ali said despite constraints like a playground and financial hardships, altogether 97 players from the club have so far represented the state and the nation since the club was established in 1988.

The two who have made it to the international level are Ganesh Dutta, to a meet in Sweden in 2005, and Biki Barhoi, in a girls’ event in Bangkok.

Barhoi, who died a few years ago, was also adjudged best player in a national event at Jaipur.

“Ever since the club was established, we have made a mark at the state level, representing Sivasagar district. We have won the inter-district handball championship trophy continuously at the girls’ sub-junior level for 12 years from 1992 and the boys’ junior level, winning it eight times and the junior girls, winning it 11 times,” Ali said.

Ali, who has undertaken training at the National Institute of Sports in Calcutta in 1988, was also the assistant coach at the Guwahati National Games.

The Assam team had won a bronze for the first time in the same games in 2007.

“It is with the club members (there are 82 at present) annual fees and some donation from the local wellwishers that we run the club’s annual activities, including talent scouting and coaching programmes. Sometimes it becomes difficult for us to send our players to play tournaments because of paucity of funds.

The Demow public playground is the only ground available but most of the time we have to practise at unusual places like paddy field, courtyards, roads and streets, as the playground is frequently dug up to hold fairs and theatres,” Ali said.