Korfball is a ball game that consists of eight players in each team -- four men and four women. The game, which was introduced in Nepal by a group of young sports enthusiasts in 2007, got national recognition from the National Sports Council -- the apex body of sports associations -- two months ago.
“I got interested in this game after learning that each of the teams playing the game consists of both men and women,” said Laxman Ghimire, founding president of Nepal Korfball Federation (NKA). With a view to sophisticate the game further, Ghimire went to India in 2007 and learned the basics of the game before registering his club in the Kathmandu Sports Development Committee. He brought with himself the necessary kits for the games including the ball, korf (ring), pole and other accessories from India at his own expense.
Then he started taking the game to schools one after the other, familiarizing and introducing the basics of the game to students. One-and-a-half years later, the Korfball is now played in about a dozen of schools in the capital alone. Korfball clubs have been formed in five districts -- Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Nuwakot, Chitwan and Kavre.
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“Indian Korfball Association and International Korfball Association have been generous to us as they have been supporting us in various ways. Indian coach has arrived here on our request for four times and trained our players.”
Within this short span, Nepal also participated in the Asian Korfball Championship held in Jaipur, India, from June 3-8 last year and bagged the fair play award. “Though we could not clinch good position, we were praised by the korfball officials for our skill in the game.”
The players of the Asian Championship comprised two national volleyball players, while other players were selected from schools and colleges. They were selected out of 100 players after conducting training in Sridiwa School.
“Korfball could be a success in Nepal as we have got co-educational system. We could even take our team above South Asian level,” Ghimire added.
National captain and the national volleyball player Madan Saud said that the players have more opportunity in this game. “We could gain international recognition name through this game.”
Bhawana Lama, a tenth-grader at Loyalty Academy, was the youngest player in the entire Asian Championship, who grabbed the limelight through her overwhelming performances. She netted three points against the Indian team. Bhawana was 14 then.
The supreme body of the world korfball, the International Korfball Federation (IKF) has promised to provide financial and technical support to NKF once a national championship is held. An international coach from the Netherlands Edwin will be arriving here to train Nepali players and to discuss about the support to be given by the IKF.
With its ambitious program to spread the Korfball to every nook and corner of the country the federation is all geared to organize its first national championship from November 8-13. The best players selected after holding a national tournament will be given further training to participate in the Asian Ocean Korfball Championship to be held in Japan on 2011.
What is Korfball and how is it played
Korfball is similar to Basketball. It is played between two teams, each comprising eight players - four men and four women. The game is played in 40m X 20m court for 60 minutes with a ball, which is smaller and lighter than a basketball. A team needs to throw a ball into the korf (ring) hung on a 11.5 m tall pole. Unlike basketball, there isn´t any wooden block behind the korf (ring). Body contact is considered foul in this game and opposite sex cannot defend each other. A man player can only defend another man player.
Korfball is the national game of the Netherlands and is played around 60 countries and has its own tournaments like world cup (in every four years), European Championship, Asian Championship and others. It entered Nepal in 2007 and in the same year a Korfball Club was registered, which now has been converted into the Korfball Federation and recognized by the NSC as its 79th member association.
Korfball is similar to Basketball. It is played between two teams, each comprising eight players - four men and four women. The game is played in 40m X 20m court for 60 minutes with a ball, which is smaller and lighter than a basketball. A team needs to throw a ball into the korf (ring) hung on a 11.5 m tall pole. Unlike basketball, there isn´t any wooden block behind the korf (ring). Body contact is considered foul in this game and opposite sex cannot defend each other. A man player can only defend another man player.
Korfball is the national game of the Netherlands and is played around 60 countries and has its own tournaments like world cup (in every four years), European Championship, Asian Championship and others. It entered Nepal in 2007 and in the same year a Korfball Club was registered, which now has been converted into the Korfball Federation and recognized by the NSC as its 79th member association.
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