PANAJI: The Premier Handball League (PHL) announced ‘Maharashtra Ironmen’ as the fourth team for the much-awaited inaugural edition of the franchise-based league. The team from Maharashtra is owned by Punit Balan of the Punit Balan Group.
An avid sports enthusiast and youth icon, Punit is passionate about Olympic sports and has visionary investments in the field of sports, entertainment as well as real estate. He also owns multiple teams in various sporting leagues, states a press release.
“Having stakeholders who are equally passionate and have a vision for Handball in India is a perfect combination for us at PHL. We are delighted to welcome Mr. Punit Balan and the Punit Balan Group on board and believe that this partnership will not only help in restoring the rich sporting legacy of Maharashtra but will also enable the sport of Handball to be developed into a commercially viable product in Maharashtra where the sport is already popular”, said Manu Agrawal, CEO, Bluesport Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.
Alongside owning teams across various sports leagues including the Tennis Premier League, Punit also has an investment in a sports employment startup. With sports being an essential part of Maharashtra’s culture, he aims to boost the development of handball in the state and believes that if promoted and supported well, the sport will enjoy a similar popularity in the Indian market as it does globally. Punit has also made notable contributions through the Indrani Balan Foundation for financial sustainability of Army Goodwill Schools and Parivar School Society in Jammu & Kashmir.
“Handball is one of the most exciting games with a unique combination of speed, agility, technique, skill and teamwork and enjoys a great following in the western market. I believe that if promoted and supported well, it will enjoy the same popularity in the Indian market as well. Additionally, being an Olympic sport with a majority of the players coming from the armed services, Handball becomes a natural choice for our group. Through PHL, we will look to transform this new-age sport. Through this partnership we are keen to create the right amount of entertainment so as to make the sport of Handball a household sport. We believe in supporting the current and upcoming talent and our focus will be to unearth promising handball players from the region and nurture them so that they become the face of the sport in times to come,” said Punit, CMD Punit Balan Group.
Maharashtra Ironmen will be among the six teams to feature in the inaugural edition of the PHL, slated to take place later this year.
Bluesport Entertainment Pvt Ltd—exclusive licensee of the league under the aegis of Handball Federation of India have earlier launched three teams namely: Garvit Gujarat, Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan Wolverines. Season 1 the League will take place later this year.
