Sergey Shishkarev, President of the Russian Handball Federation, spoke about the negotiations with Ms. Wang Tao, Chairman of the Chinese Handball Association.
The negotiations that started last fall have already led to the signing of a memorandum of cooperation between the Russian Handball Federation and the Chinese Handball Association and to the arrival of Chinese handball players to Moscow for an extended training camp experience. And now, for the first time, the heads of the two federations met in person, and not by video conference. The conversation was lengthy and informative. At a press conference that followed, Sergey Shishkarev shared the details of the main topics of discussion.
“In this time of difficult political events and challenges that our country is going through, the arrival of Chinese athletes and sports professionals is like a breath of fresh air. We have begun to implement our agreements and have become pioneers in the implementation of the program of Years of Russian–Chinese cooperation in the field of physical culture and sport,” said the President of the Russian Handball Federation. “The training of Chinese handball players in Russia will also benefit our guys and girls, because we will be able to hold international matches and get match exposure that some people tried to take away from us.”
How long will Chinese athletes stay in Russia?
This is a long-term program. Now, 44 people have arrived. Another 13 to 15 athletes are expected to arrive in May. We will work until June, and then we plan to continue in October. Chinese sports professionals and athletes will get match exposure and the opportunity to train according to Russian methods, and work with our best coaches: Nikolay Izmailov and Vladislav Kosmodemyansky. It is very important that the head coaches of the Russia national teams Velimir Petković and Lyudmila Bodniyeva will also be involved.
What joint events can we expect?
Already on April 22–23, an international women’s tournament will be held in Moscow. Two of the Russia national teams, the main and the youth ones, as well as the national teams of China and Belarus will participate. This tournament provides a good match exposure with a strong competition that would give our girls the opportunity to show what they are worth, requiring them to go full force at training camps and, thus, to regain their motivation. This is especially important given the insulting and unfair exclusion of Russia from international tournaments, including the EHF Champions League, where HBC CSKA and HBC Rostov-Don featuring our top national team players were expected to make it to the Final Four.
There are also longer-term plans that stretch beyond the scope of our previous agreements. For example, a friendly match may be held between the women’s national teams of Russia and China during the Far Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok. We are also considering the idea of creating a Far Eastern league. It’s no secret that beyond the Urals, handball is a little less developed than in the European part of Russia, therefore, the teams would be almost at the same level. Other countries in the region may also want to join.
The last thing we discussed was the filing of a joint application by Russia and China to host the IHF World Women’s Handball Championship in 2029 or 2031. I think that, given the current intensity of our dialogue, this is realistic. Never before have two such large countries hosted such a major competition together. I think it will be very interesting, especially given the attention that IHF President Hassan Moustafa pays to the development of handball in China.
Are there any planned sparring matches between the men’s teams?
We are thinking about it. The China national team could play against OLIMPBET Super League clubs given that their schedule is not that busy right now. This will be a good practice for both sides.
Does the cooperation extend to children’s handball?
It certainly does. We have invited Chinese boys and girls born in 2005, 2006 and 2007 to our traditional handball festival in Tolyatti. The festival has a 20-year-old history, has been recognized internationally and gathers thousands of children annually. If travel and epidemiological restrictions allow, we will be glad to see teams from China at this holiday.
Daria Rotkevich, Dmitry Khristich
Source: Russian Handball Federation