Uttar Pradesh Handball Association

Uttar Pradesh Handball Association, Lucknow (उत्तर प्रदेश हैंडबॉल संघ, लखनऊ) (UPHA) is the administrative and governing body for handball, beach handball, and wheelchair handball in Uttar Pradesh, under the aegis of the Handball Association of India. In Uttar Pradesh, the sport of handball was introduced by Dr. Anandeswar Pandey from Deoria and the late S. N. Pandey from Varanasi, who was an alumnus of SAI Patiala. He is regarded as the founder and father of handball in Uttar Pradesh. UPHA was formed in Lucknow on 17 November 1971. It was registered under the Societies Registration Act XXI on 15 December 1972. The founding members of UPHA included Varanasi, Deoria, Lucknow, Gorakhpur, Faizabad, Meerut, and Ghaziabad. The 1st Uttar Pradesh Senior Men’s and Women’s State Handball Championships were held at KD Singh Babu Stadium, Lucknow, in 1973. In the men’s competition, Varanasi won the gold medal and Faizabad secured the silver medal. In the women’s competition, Deoria won gold, while Varanasi won silver. The 1st HFI Junior (U19) Boys’ and Girls’ National Handball Championships were held in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh, in 1976. Andhra Pradesh and West Bengal won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in the boys’ competition, while Vidarbha and Punjab secured the gold and silver medals in the girls’ competition. The 1st HFI Sub-Junior (U15) Boys’ and Girls’ National Handball Championships were held in Churk, Uttar Pradesh, in 1982. Manipur and Andhra Pradesh won the gold and silver medals, respectively, in both the boys’ and girls’ competitions.