The Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Handball Federation of Russia Sergey Shishkarev commented on the invitation of the women's national team of Russia to the IHF Nations Trophy tournament.
- We are happy that our active diplomatic work at all levels on the return of the Russian handball players to the international arena has already produced concrete results. Admission of the women's junior national team of Russia (U-16) to the World Cup in Morocco in October was the first step in this direction.
And though our juniors have not held official games yet, we hope for a successful performance of Irina Bliznova's wards. Argentina, Egypt and especially Switzerland are complicated rivals, but I am sure the Russian athletes are able to cope with them and reach the semi-finals.
The main national team of Russia played mostly with the teams of Belarus and China the past four years. Europeans refused from sparrings politely, and basically there are not so many rivals among representatives of other countries, corresponding to the level of our national team.
That is why I would name the participation in the IHF Nations Trophy a certain breakthrough before admission to the main competitions in the international calendar - the Olympic Games, the World and European Cups. I am sure we will see Russian handball players in all major tournaments after a while, - the press service of the HFR quotes Sergey Shishkarev's words.
Photo: the HFR press
