Bang! Bang! Bang! The sound of the handball hitting the wall and the roar of the crowd cheers on the sidelines filled the aggressive atmosphere of Seward Park during OCAâÂÂs Handball Tournament.
On August 6, the Organization for Chinese Americans (OCA), hosted its first Handball Doubles Tournament to spark prevention and awareness of hate crimes. Before the tournament started, the participants had to visit an art gallery, which displayed teen-produced artworks against hate crimes.
Each of the 10 games in the tournament was a fierce battle but the semi-final game between Team Rocket and Team BCG was more exciting than even the final match. Barely anything got past Alan Yaung (Team Rocket) on power-side, the side that returns most of the ball. His teammate, Steven Zhu, added to the duoâÂÂs power with kill-shots that were virtually unreturnable. This outstanding partnership helped them win first place in OCAâÂÂs tournament.
The semi-final match had been close throughout with neither teams getting more than a two-point lead. Toward the end of the match, Team Rocket took the lead making it 24-18.
Just when the crowd lost faith in Team BCG, they countered, closing the lead at a nail-biting 24-23. Team Rocket ultimately prevailed, ending the game with the score of 25-23.
The final match between Team Rocket and Team Win was less dramatic, ending at 25-15.
Overall the tournament was fairly small but well-organized for its first time. Two referees were assigned to each match and each kept close attention to the short line and long line boundaries, which is a rare instance in handball tournaments.
OCA is still deciding whether to host another tournament, but if they do, expect a fair and organized tournament with a great deal of skill from the players.