Handball at 2008 Summer Games: Handball is a team sport contested at international level. The aim of the game is to pass and bounce a ball into the opponent goal. The modern handball sport event started in the later half of the nineteenth century. However, the origin of the game can be traced back to the ancient period, when Greeks played a similar game. Handball has been regularly contested at the international level since the early twentieth century. The handball team consists of seven players—six players and a goal keeper. The sport has much similarity with football. Handball is also popularly referred to as team handball, field handball, European handball or Olympic handball. The most popular version of hand ball is the four-wall handball. The other variations of the game are three-wall handball and one-wall handball. The International Handball Federation or the IHF is the governing body for the sport at the international level.
Handball in the Summer Games: Men's handball competition was included in the Olympic schedule at the 1936 Berlin Summer Games. After the 1936 Games, the sport was dropped from the Olympic schedule. The event reappeared in the Olympics during the 1972 Munich Summer Games. Handball for women was introduced to the Olympics in the 1976 Montreal Olympics.
Rules of Handball: The International Handball Federation or the IHF sets rules for handball at the international level. Some of the rules followed during the international handball competitions are—
Handball is played on a rectangular field with 40 meter length and 20 meter width. There are two goal areas and a playing area in the field.
The handball game should consist of two halves of 30 minutes and a 10 minutes break.
The ball used in the game is smaller than the ball used in football. The size and material of the ball used in the event are specified by the IHF.
Referees are appointed during the game to monitor the play.
The fouls made by the players are penalized. The first foul is given a warning. Serious fouls or repetitive fouls can lead to penalties or exclusion from game.
The ways, in which the ball can be thrown during the game, are specified by the IHF.
Hand signals used by the referee at the time of controlling the game are also determined by the IHF.
A player is not allowed to obstruct any other player's way during the game. This is considered to be a punishable offence.
Medal winners in Handball: Croatia, Spain, Germany, Russia and Sweden are the leading nations in the field of men's handball competition at the international level. In the field of international handball competitions for women Denmark, Korea, Ukraine, Hungary and Norway are in the leading position.
