The island-state nation of Singapore recently concluded the ‘Singapore Handball Open Tournament’, or ‘SHOT’ which was held over three days right at the end of 2017.

 

The event is Singapore’s largest international handball tournament and has been held annually since 2013 when the inaugural – and originally-titled – Singapore Handball Overseas Team (SHOT) competition was held at the end of the year.

 

Aside from the goal of establishing it as the biggest handball tournament in the local region, the competition aims to exhibit sportsmanship, fighting spirit, improvement of skills and enjoyment for all involved.

 

Nine men’s and four women’s sides competed against each other at the Hougang and Tampines Sports Halls with SHOT 2017 acting as a mini-Asian competition for the region, featuring a variety of teams representing nations and clubs including Hong Kong (Youth), Macau, Singapore, South China Athletic Association (SCAA), Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU), Nocturne, Uzbekistan (Men’s and Women’s winners in 2016), Saitama (Japan) and North Korea.

 

In the women’s final, North Korea beat Uzbekistan 40:25with Uzbekistan’s men finishing top of the men’s round-robin tournament to be crowned champions for the third successive year. ‘Most Valuable Players’ awards were also given out for many of the teams after the competition had concluded.

 

Most Valuable Players – SHOT 2017

 

Saitama (Men): Yamamoto Kosuke

Saitama (Women): Arai Momoka

HKBU (Men): Chan Tze Long

North Korea (Women): Kim Chol Sun

Macau (Men): Au Wing Kin                                                                               

Hong Kong (Men): Wong Tzu Ho

Nocturne (Men): Wong Yuk Wa

SCAA (Men): Cheung Pak Chor

 

Since that first edition of SHOT, the sport has continued to grow and gain popularity as Singapore looks to be ready for 2019, when the Southeast Asian Games takes place in the Philippines in an event which is set to include handball.

 

In other news, the Handball Federation of Singapore is currently working on a handball-related web TV series and will celebrate ‘Singapore Handball Day’ with a series of three events, held on 24, 25 and 31 March.

 

Handball was first introduced to Singapore in the 1980s, but it was not until 2008 when Singapore started preparing for the first-ever Youth Olympic Games that the sport reappeared in the country. 2008 was also the year that the Handball Federation of Singapore was established, and it has been an IHF member since 2009.

 

For more information about handball in Singapore visit www.hfs.org.sg.

 

Photo: Lim Sau Boon