A group of Indian students have formed the Throwball Society at the University of Central Lancashire, making it the first of its kind in the UK.

Throwball is a fast-paced non-contact sport played across a net between two teams of seven players.

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It’s similar to volleyball in terms of the net and court size, with one main difference being that the ball is thrown rather than hit or volleyed over the net.

The sport is popular in Asia, especially in India, where it was first played as a women’s sport in Chennai during the 1940s. While these days throwball is a gender neutral sport, women still tend to play it more than men.

Despite its long history and popularity in Asia, the sport hasn’t yet caught on in the UK.

The President of the society, Rakshitha Manjunath, and Secretary, Vibichant Nallashivam, are Indians who have played in tournaments back home.

Rakshitha said: “When I spoke to the Students’ Union about starting the society, they told me that they hadn’t heard of it.

“So I teamed up with a bunch of people and we decided to introduce the sport to students here in Preston through the Throwball Society.

“It’s a very fun sport, but it can get highly competitive as well, as it depends on the player’s speed and quick response.”

Read more: Majority of University of Central Lancashire students won’t return until January 25

Rakshitha continued: “With our experience, we hope to be able to train the students well.

“Our aim is to introduce the sport locally and, because universities in the UK do not have throwball yet, hopefully take it to them too.”

Practice sessions will start once Covid-19 restrictions allow.

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To find out more about UCLan Throwball, visit the UCLan SU website or follow @uclan_throwball on Instagram.

Read more: See the latest Preston news and headlines

What do you think of Preston being the first location of a university Throwball Society? Let us know in the comments.