India whipped by Thailand, finish eighth

Doha, Dec 12 (UNI) India were whipped 20-43 by Thailand and finished last in the eight-nation Women's Handball competition of the Asian Games here today.

Yesterday, India had finished 12th in the 14-team field in the men's section of this competition.

India trailed 9-25 at half-time.

In a one-sided encounter, the Thai girls scored at will but slowed down the pace of the game in the last stages of the match, thus allowing a breather to their rivals.

''The girls played well given the constraints and limitations,'' asserted Handball Federation of India (HFI) Secretary General SM Bali.

''You will be surprised that teams have no coach, the government did not sanction the coach and I think we are the only team in these Games who are playing without a coach,'' he said.

The Indians, who had lost all their league matches -- against Kazakhstan, China and Uzbekistan -- could do no better against Thailand and it looked as if they were just going through their motions to complete a formalty.

Anita Kumari top scored for the Indians with five goals, followed by Juliet Lawrance, Karishma Sahu, Anamika Mukherjee, Sangita Tiwari (three each) and Seena, Pavana, Rita Devi (one each).

For Thailand P Thanawat (8), A Pinitmontree (6), Busarakam Riruksa (5) were the main scorers.

''It is easy to find fault with the losing team, but I will not do that,'' Bali thundered, adding, ''How do you expect the team to perform without a coach. I think we did well in adverse conditions in both the events.'' UNI HSB PM DS1455