3 Assam Daughters Chosen to Represent India in World Tchoukball Championships

Kokrajhar, July 27, 2019:

Today, in a press conference held at the Tchoukball Sports Association of Kokrajhar, the General Secretary of Assam and India's coach Ashok Gaurav announced the Indian Tchoukball team for the 9th World Tchoukball Championships, 2019 to be held from 8-11 August this year.

To their utter elation, three daughters of Assam were included in the team which will take part in the tournament to be held in Malaysia. Twenty teams from around the globe will compete in the flagship event.

The Indian contingent comprises Birsangshree Mushariari of Kokrajhar, Preetima Khaklary of Golaghat, and Torali Rabha of Golaghat -- all from Assam.

For the uninitiated, Tchoukball is an indoor team sport developed in the 1970s by Swiss biologist Dr Hermann Brandt. Dr Brandt was concerned about the number of injuries in sport at the time and as part of an educational study he wanted to create a sport that reduced injuries, was not aggressive between players and enabled people of all shapes, sizes, genders, cultures, and backgrounds to play together.

The sport is usually played on an indoor court measuring 27 metres by 16 metres. At each end there is a 'frame' (a device similar to a trampoline off which the ball bounces) which measures one square metre and a semicircular D-shaped forbidden zone measuring three metres in radius.

Each team can score on both ends of the court, and comprises 12 players, of whom 7 may be on the court at any one time. In order to score a point, the ball must be thrown by an attacking player, hit the frame and bounce outside the 'D' without being caught by the defending team.

Physical contact is prohibited, and defenders may not attempt to intercept the attacking team's passes. Players may take three steps with the ball, hold the ball for a maximum of three seconds, and teams may not pass the ball more than three times before shooting at the frame.

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