SEAG medals beckon Phl handball squads

Don’t be surprised if the Philippine men and women handball teams end up winning medals in the 33rd Southeast Asian Games in Thailand.

Following the success of the squads in the recent Southeast Asian Beach Handball Championships in Thailand, top player Rafael Andrew Agtarap and conditioning coach Gab de Guzman believe the SEA gold is within reach.

“This was a great experience for us and it fuels our preparations for the SEA Games,” Agtarap said during Tuesday’s Philippine Sportswriters Association (PSA) Forum at the conference hall of the Rizal Memorial Coliseum.

De Guzman said unlike other countries which have separate teams playing in indoor and beach handball, the Philippines is fielding the same roster that achieved podium finishes in the SEABHA meet to the SEA Games.

“We are the only team that did that because other countries sent different teams indoor and beach handball. And like what we did in the beach, we believe we can perform at a high level in this coming Southeast Asian Games,” De Guzman added in the same session presented by San Miguel Corporation, Philippine Sports Commission, Philippine Olympic Committee, Smart/PLDT, MILO, and the country’s 24/7 sports app ArenaPlus.

The country won its first ever beach handball gold in the Southeast Asian region last week after beating Vietnam in the men’s final, 2-1, highlighted by a thrilling 9-8 win via a shootout.

The women’s side, meanwhile, bagged the bronze medal.

The country hasn’t won a gold medal yet in handball in the SEA Games, with the men’s beach team copping the silver in the 2021 edition in Hanoi.

Agtarap said the experience the team had in the SEABHA served as a gauge on what both teams still need to improve since they are actually facing the same competition in the SEA Games.

And for that, De Guzman believes training camps are a must for both national teams especially the men’s unit which is also preparing for the Asian Beach Handball set in Oman this May.

Incidentally, the Asian meet also serves as a qualifier to the World Handball Championships slated in Germany in January 2027.

The women’s team made its debut in the world meet last year in China after bagging a silver medal in the 9th Beach Handball Championships in Bali, Indonesia.