The head of the Supreme Council of the HFR Sergey Shishkarev shared his impressions on the past Final Four in the women’s Cup of Russia, held in Rostov-on-Don.
HC CKA Moscow beat HC Rostov-Don in the penalty shootout (30:29, penalty 7:6) and won the trophy for the third consecutive time.
— It was impossible to predict the outcome of the struggle between two remarkable teams. CSKA and Rostov-Don are principle competitors, who meet in the decisive matches during four years and a half. What we saw in the performance of CSKA and Rostov-Don, raises handball to an incredible level. The dramatic ending with Sara Ristovska’s miss from a 7-meter throwing, followed by the post-match penalty shootout and Elena Mikhaylichenko’s winning goal. It’s a pleasure to see all these enthusiastic emotions and happiness of fans.
The most significant finding for me of this Final Four was that CSKA finally took all the willpower. After all, the team was loosing to Rostov-Don throughout the season and, in my opinion, it was especially difficult for CSKA to tune in to this match. Probably, it was surprising for me that CSKA showed maximal dedication and readiness to fight to the last second. That is why it is particularly pleasant that worthy and strong professional rivals met in the final.
I would like to mention again that the best handball players of the country were on the court. The decision of the HFR Supreme council members to trust the holding of the Final Four to Rostov-on-Don absolutely justified itself. I would like to thank the governor of the Rostov region Vasiliy Yuryevich Golubev and the president of the Handball Federation of the Rostov Region Aleksandr Yuryevich Skryabin. We had an incredible handball holiday, — Sergey Shishkarev said.
Photo: Artem Gusev/ Rostov-Don press
