ABOUT

The modern game of handball was first played towards the end of the 19th century in Denmark, Germany and Sweden. Recognition of field handball based on the games of "Raffball" (snatch ball) and "Königsbergerball" (Konrad Koch, 1846-1911) occurred at the turn of the century. G. Wallström introduced Sweden to the sport of "handball" in 1910.

After the men's game debuted on turf football fields at the 1936 Games in Berlin, the European-based sport next appeared in its present indoor form in 1972 at Munich. A women's division opened in 1976 and it has become one of the most highly attended Olympic sports.

Chinese Handball Association

Founded: 1979

Headquarters: Beijing

IHF Member since: 1979

President: WU Shouzhang

Secretary-General: YANG Chao

Add: A39 Xingfu Street, Chongwen District, Beijing 100061, China

Tel: (8610) 67157215

Fax: (8610) 67114994

E-mail:

Brief introduction:

Before 1949, handball was played in China only as an introductory sport in the physical education departments of some colleges and universities. In 1956 the Beijing Physical Culture Institute began its teaching experiment in the sport. Following that, the Shanghai Physical Culture Institute and the Physical Culture Institute of the People's Liberation Army opened their handball course. Before 1960, as only the 11-a-side handball was played in China, four national 11-a-side handball competitions had been held. The First National Games held in 1959 drew more than 30 men's and women's handball teams from all over the country. Later, the 7-a-side handball was introduced. Many provinces, municipalities, autonomous regions and the People's Liberation Army promoted the sport by organizing various competitions. In 1965 and 1966, the Chinese handball team had 18 encounters with its Japanese counterpart, 9 in China and 9 in Japan, and achieved the identical result of 8 wins and 1 loss. Since 1974 national handball competitions have been held annually.

Link: International Handball Federation (IHF)

Related Story

• China's Sheng Lihao wins 2nd Paris Olympic gold with men's 10m air rifle victory(08-29 19:31)
• Olympics | Day 13: Chinese diver defends Olympic title, weightlifting debutant claims gold(08-09 16:50)
• Olympics | Chinese weightlifters Hou, Li retain gold at Paris 2024(08-08 14:26)
• Olympics | Day 12: Chinese weightlifters retain Olympic golds, artistic swimming team make history(08-08 14:23)
• Olympics | Chinese diver Quan defends women's 10m platform title at Paris Games(08-07 22:37)