Bhubaneswar: The IHF Junior Men’s Trophy is scheduled to be held in Dhaka, Bangladesh, from June 10 to 14. Odisha’s Swastik Mahaprasad Pati has been selected as the sole player from the state to represent India in the tournament, bringing pride and glory to Odisha.
The selection trials for the tournament were conducted in Lucknow on April 9 and 10, while the national coaching camp was held in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand, from May 27 to June 8. Swastik impressed the selectors with his outstanding performance during the camp and secured a place in the 14-member Indian squad.
With this achievement, Swastik has become the first Odia handball player to participate in the IHF Trophy.
Notably, last year he represented India in the Asian Boys’ Handball Championship in Jordan and the Central Asian Championship in Uzbekistan, where India won a bronze medal. Following Odisha’s first international handball player, Aryan, Swastik has now retained his place in the Indian team for the third consecutive time. He is currently training under Gauri Shankar Mishra, Odisha’s first international handball coach.
Congratulating Swastik on his achievement, officials of the Odisha Handball Association including President Biplab Choudhury, Secretary Er. Manas Kumar Singh, Treasurer Shitendra Nath Das, Bhubaneswar Handball Association Secretary Prashant Kumar Nayak, and international coach Gauri Shankar Mishra extended their best wishes and congratulations for the upcoming tournament.
