Controversial Lottery Decides Winner of North Zone Inter-University Handball Championship

Unusual Decision in Handball Championship

In a surprising turn of events, the North Zone Inter-University Handball Championship for Women concluded with a winner being chosen through a lottery system, raising eyebrows about the integrity of the competition. This decision was made under the pretext of 'benefiting players' after several teams reportedly refused to compete against Lovely Professional University (LPU) from Phagwara.

Faced with the refusal of teams to play and officials unwilling to oversee the matches, the organizers opted for a lottery to avoid further distress for the athletes involved.

Ultimately, LPU emerged as the champion, followed by Sardar Patel University, Mandi in second place, Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar in third, and Punjabi University, Patiala in fourth. All four institutions have now secured their spots in the All India Inter-University Handball Championship for Women through this random selection process.

The Association of Indian Universities (AIU) had assigned the event to Himachal Pradesh University, Shimla, which then passed the responsibility to Lala Jagat Narain Himotkarsh Government Girls Degree College in Kotla Khrud, Una.

Dr. Onkar Singh, the organizing secretary, claimed that LPU players exhibited misconduct prior to their quarter-final match against Panjab University. He noted that the other teams qualified for the league stage refused to compete against LPU, leading to the decision to let team officials determine the tournament's outcome through a lottery. The results were announced on the evening of March 11, confirming the four teams' qualification for the national championship.

When questioned about whether a report would be submitted to the AIU, Singh mentioned that they were in the process of preparing it. He also highlighted that one team began to challenge the referees without having played any matches. During the tournament, LPU requested changes to referees for their game against Panjab University, which led to objections raised in front of the Una District Collector, with videos of the incident circulating widely on social media. LPU won that match, prompting Panjab University to file a protest against one of LPU's players.

Chandan Singh, the coach of the LPU team, stated, 'The organizers asked the officials from the participating teams to decide on the lottery after the officials refused to conduct our matches.'

Expressing his frustration, the coach remarked, 'I’m not certain if these rules are still valid, but determining a winner through a lottery is simply unacceptable.'