The Handball Association of Hong Kong, China, is calling on authorities to provide more dedicated training venues, saying that having facilities that it can count on is crucial to the city making more progress in the sport in the wake of a landmark achievement by the men's team.

That saw the team making a historic run in the National Games, where they reached the final four for the first time ever before narrowly missing out on a podium finish after a loss to Beijing in the bronze medal match on Monday.

Ho Chung-ho, chairman of the association's board of directors, highlighted the team's challenges, noting that unlike their full-time professional counterparts on the mainland, Hong Kong's handball athletes are largely amateurs who had to fit their training regimen around their jobs.

Speaking on an RTHK radio programme, Ho said the team is grateful for the fixed venue provided in the lead-up to the National Games.

However, he said, a core but regularly occurring problem for the team is the dire lack of suitable indoor facilities, pointing out that the sport requires a space equivalent to three basketball courts, meaning teams need to book an entire sports hall.

"There are only eight indoor venues in Hong Kong that are suitable for handball; the rest are all outdoors," Ho said.

"Outdoor venues make it tricky for us to play our best and it's easy to get injured so I've been trying to tell the government, can they try to give us some fixed venues?"

This scarcity wreaks havoc on the schedules of working athletes, Ho said.

"They are amateurs. They have jobs. Professional teams practice at their base from morning till night. Our players come after work at 5pm. Some can make it to training, some can't. Many problems arise. So the training needs to be more consistent," he said.

Ho also cited the adhesive resin used in the sport, which leaves marks that are difficult to get rid off, as a reason they want a fixed venue to practice.

He hopes the government can allocate one or two specific venues for the team's permanent use.

Looking ahead, Ho is already in discussions to establish a high-intensity "super league" in Hong Kong to further develop the sport.

The team's success has resonated locally, with Yip Tsz-ho, a player from another division in the sport who attended the bronze-medal match, saying he hopes its impressive performance will generate more attention and resources for handball in Hong Kong.