India began their campaign in the 20th Asian Women’s Handball Championship (AWHC) 2024 with a battling 31-28 win over Hong Kong here on Tuesday.

India’s win was mainly due to brilliant performances from Bhawana Sharma and Menika.

India started the match positively, scoring their first goal of the tournament through Priyanka Thakur, who was instrumental in India’s historic win at the 2022 Asian Women’s Junior Handball Championship.

Moments later, experienced campaigner Menika opened her account, putting India in a position of strength.

India also showed their sturdy defence, which stood firm amidst an onslaught by Hong Kong.

Skipper Diksha Kumari, a SAF Games gold medallist, played a key role by stopping three penalties, all within the first 30-minute period, as India entered the break up by 16-10.

Hong Kong pressed hard after the restart, turning up their strategy to extract maximum attacking advantage with every play.

India, however, were robust in their defence and exploited the subsequent counter-attacking opportunities with ruthless efficiency to keep their opponents at an arm’s length.

India, eventually, sealed the win in style, with Bhawana adding to her best player award from the Junior Championships with the player of the match honour.