Dr Saluja, who has been the General Secretary of the HFI since November 2020 and has been a member of both the IHF and AHF since 1974, claims that he has not received any response from either the International Handball Federation (IHF) or the Asian Handball Federation (AHF) despite sending letters reporting irregularities.

He also accuses both the IHF and AHF of illegally recognising a new association, the Handball Association of India (HAI), without the proper approval of the councils and congresses of these bodies or the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), in violation of the resolution of the 12th Olympic Congress of the IOC held in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The important Olympic Congress stated that sports federations must abide by the laws of the country, which Saluja says has not been the case, prompting his public complaints and allegations.

Dr Pritpal Singh Saluja goes even further, stating that "the recognition of the HAI violates Article 8 of the IHF Constitution, which states that membership can only be granted by the IHF Congress".

He also mentions that "the HAI is not recognised by the IOA, a requirement according to the AHF and IHF statutes for the recognition of a national federation. This fact can be verified on the IOA website".

Dr Saluja further claims that the HFI's membership of the IHF has never been revoked or suspended since 1974. This is causing irreparable damage as the HFI, despite its long standing membership, has been barred from participating in Asian and World Championships for the past two years.

In addition to being banned from major international tournaments, Dr Saluja alleges that the HAI, an illegitimate entity because it does not meet the requirements, has been allowed to represent India.

According to his complaint, the HAI was illegally recognised by the AHF in August 2022 and by the IHF in September 2022. Since the HAI is not recognised by the IOA, which is mandatory under the statutes of the IHF and AHF, the General Secretary of the Handball Federation of India (HFI) requests the IHF and AHF to immediately suspend the membership of the HAI.

However, last year the Indian Ministry of Sports confirmed the recognition of the Handball Association of India (HAI) as the official governing body of the sport in the country, which has implications for the organisation of the game in the world's most populous nation. At the time, Digvijay Chautala was appointed President of the HAI and Jagan Mohan Rao was appointed Secretary General of the body.

Last year, in a letter to the President and Secretary General of HAI, the Ministry said: "In order to have a fully functional NSF to manage the affairs of handball, the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports has decided to recognise the Handball Association of India as the NSF for the promotion and regulation of handball in the country with immediate effect."

"In deciding to make HAI the NSF for handball, the Ministry has taken into consideration the fact that HAI is duly affiliated with the international governing bodies of the sport of handball, namely the International Handball Federation, the Asian Handball Federation and also the Indian Olympic Association," said the letter from the Indian Sports Ministry.

This should end, or at least try to end, the years-long dispute over the governance of handball in India. However, according to Dr Pritpal Singh Saluja, the act was illegal and not in accordance with the law, with the implication that anything that followed would be illegal.

In conclusion, in a country that will not be at peace until the handball situation is clarified or finally resolved by the courts, the waters that seemed to be calming have once again been stirred up. Many interests are at stake, with 1.4 billion people potentially involved in the sport in a country with modest continental and global achievements in the discipline.