The Russia women's national handball team is the national team of the Russian Federation. It is governed by the

Handball Federation of Russia The Handball Federation of Russia () commonly known by its acronym, HFR, is the national Sport governing body, governing body of Handball, handball in Russia. Is a Non-governmental organization, public sports organization with its primary focus ce ...

and takes part in international

handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

competitions. They are as of October 2021, together with its predecessor the USSR team, the only handball women's team in the world, to have won the World Championship three consecutive times. (Denmarks men's team equalled the record in 2023). Overall, the team won three medals at the Olympics, with a gold on 2016, five medals at the World Championships, with four of them gold, and four medals at the European Championships, with two silvers in 2006 and 2018. In reaction to the 2022

Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the

International Handball Federation The International Handball Federation (IHF) is the administrative and controlling body for handball and beach handball. IHF is responsible for the organisation of handball's major international tournaments, notably the IHF World Men's Handball C ...

banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, and the

European Handball Federation The European Handball Federation (EHF) is the umbrella organisation for European handball. Founded on 17 November 1991, it is made of 50 member federations and two associated federations (England and Scotland), and is headquartered in Vienna, Au ...

suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus, as well as Russian and Belarusian clubs competing in European handball competitions. Referees, officials, and commission members from Russia and Belarus will not be called upon for future activities, and new organisers will be sought for the YAC 16 EHF Beach Handball EURO and the Qualifier Tournaments for the Beach Handball EURO 2023, which were to be held in Moscow.

History

1993–1999: Instability

The Russian women's national handball team was formed in 1993, succeeding the Soviet Union women's national handball team, one of the strongest teams in the world. Notwithstanding the third place at the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

as the Unified Team, Russia could not qualify for the Olympic Games in the following eight years. In this period the Russian team saw four changes of coaches, who retired after failing on large events. The only striking performance was at the 1997 World Women's Handball Championship, where Russia under Igor Eskov, coach of the Rostov club Istochnik, became 4th, and two Russian handball players, Natalya Malakhova and

Natalya Deryugina Natalya Deryugina (, born April 23, 1971) is a former Russian handball player on the Unified Team at the 1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelon ...

, were included into the All-Star team. However, already in the next year at the

1998 European Women's Handball Championship The 1998 EHF European Women's Handball Championship was the third edition of the European Women's Championship. It was held in the Netherlands from 11 to 20 December. It was won by Norway after beating Denmark 24–16 in the final match. This was ...

in the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, Russia became only 9th, and at the

1999 World Women's Handball Championship The 1999 World Women's Handball Championship, the 14th of its kind, was held between November 29 and December 12, 1999, and was jointly hosted by Denmark and Norway, with the finals being played in Lillehammer, Norway. Group stage Group A ...

, under

Kuban Kuban ( Russian and Ukrainian: Кубань; ) is a historical and geographical region in the North Caucasus region of southern Russia surrounding the Kuban River, on the Black Sea between the Don Steppe, the Volga Delta and separated fr ...

's Alexander Tarasikov and head coach of the Unified Team at the 1992 Olympics, just 12th.

1999–2009: Breakthrough

In late 1999, Tarasikov was replaced by Evgeny Trefilov, the club coach of

Lada LadaAccording to various sources, the name Lada is derived from a Russian word for Viking longships (). (, , marketed as LADAFrom 2004 onwards Lada is marketed worldwide, including in Russia, using the all-capitals brand name written in Latin sc ...

. He introduced younger players to the national team and concentrated more on national club players. At the 2000 European Championship, Russia became bronze medalists. At the 2001 World Championship, Trefilov returned two veterans, Raisa Verakso, which was her sixth participation at Worlds, and the 1990 World champion, goalkeeper Svetlana Bogdanova. Russia won all nine matches, and in the final defeated

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

. Against the backgrounds of those victories, Team Russia became 4th at the 2002 European Championship in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

, and a year later at the

World Championship A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game ...

Croatia Croatia, officially the Republic of Croatia, is a country in Central Europe, Central and Southeast Europe, on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. It borders Slovenia to the northwest, Hungary to the northeast, Serbia to the east, Bosnia and Herze ...

they became only 7th, which meant that Trefilov's team could not qualify for the

2004 Olympic Games The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. Only one point was needed to reach the semi-finals in Croatia, but Russia failed to do that against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in the group stage, losing 19–20; a draw would have been enough to qualify. After the fourth-best result at the 2004 European Championship in

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

, Team Russia rose from the ashes at the 2005 World Championship in

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg, formerly known as Petrograd and later Leningrad, is the List of cities and towns in Russia by population, second-largest city in Russia after Moscow. It is situated on the Neva, River Neva, at the head of the Gulf of Finland ...

, repeating the 2001 success in Italy. Russia lost in the final of the 2006 European Championship to Norway, and so could not directly qualify for the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games (Olympics; ) are the world's preeminent international sporting events. They feature summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a variety of competit ...

; however, Russia rematched Norway at the 2007 World Championship in

in the final. A number of top handball players such as Lyudmila Bodnieva,

MVP MVP most commonly refers to: * Most valuable player, an award, typically for the best performing player in a sport or competition * Minimum viable product, a concept for feature estimating used in business and engineering MVP may also refer to: ...

of the previous World championships and member of the All-Star Team at the 2000 and 2006 European championships, Irina Bliznova, who was injured in the group stage, Natalya Shipilova, who could not compete in the semi-finals. Goal keeper Inna Suslina made a great game, saving three out of five penalties. Russia won 29–24. Norway returned the favour at the

2008 Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fr ...

in the gold medal game. Already in the early stage leading ten balls, the Vikings hindered the Russians coming back, and so Russia lost 34–27. Russia won silver. After the Olympic Games, Anna Kareeva, Oksana Romenskaya and Natalya Shipilova decided to retire from handball. Prior to the 2008 European Championship in

Macedonia Macedonia (, , , ), most commonly refers to: * North Macedonia, a country in southeastern Europe, known until 2019 as the Republic of Macedonia * Macedonia (ancient kingdom), a kingdom in Greek antiquity * Macedonia (Greece), a former administr ...

, players such as Polina Vyakhireva, Yana Uskova, Ekaterina Andryushina, Lyudmila Postnova and Irina Bliznova could not compete for Russia due to injuries or disease; they were replaced by nine debutants. Russia again met Norway in the semi-finals, and as previously, the Scandinavians started well, leading 7–1 in the beginning. In the third-place match between

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, Russia claimed bronze. The Russians defeated the Norwegians in the semi-final of the 2009 World Championship with a score of 28–20. In the final, Russia claimed the gold medal by defeating France, 25–22.

2009–2013: Decline and Retirement of Trefilov

After the 2009 World Championships, team Russia saw a number of disappointing results. They became 7th at the 2010 European Championship and 6th at the 2011 World Championship. Russia could not get beyond the quarterfinal of the

2012 Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012, were an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, losing there to

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

. After the London Olympics, the new head coach became Vitaly Krokhin. In June 2013, Russia fought for the qualification to the

. In the playoff round, Russia won the first leg in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

, 27–26, but lost the next leg in

Rostov-on-Don Rostov-on-Don is a port city and the administrative centre of Rostov Oblast and the Southern Federal District of Russia. It lies in the southeastern part of the East European Plain on the Don River, from the Sea of Azov, directly north of t ...

, 21–33. With that said, Russia for the first time did not qualify for the Worlds.

2013–19: Trefilov's Return and Olympic Gold

On 16 September 2013, Evgeny Trefilov returned as head coach. He debuted at the 2014 European Championship, but Russia became a dreadful 14th, the worst ever result in the European championships. However, on 7 and 13 June 2015, Russia twice defeated Germany in the playoffs and qualified for the 2015 World Championship. In their first match they defeated the Norwegians, 26–25. However, the Russians only reached the quarterfinals, losing there to

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

. In the playoffs, team Russia was placed 5th. Russia qualified to the Olympics for the third time, through the qualification tournament taking place from 18 to 20 March 2016 in

Astrakhan Astrakhan (, ) is the largest city and administrative centre of Astrakhan Oblast in southern Russia. The city lies on two banks of the Volga, in the upper part of the Volga Delta, on eleven islands of the Caspian Depression, from the Caspian Se ...

. In the group stage of the Olympic tournament, Russia defeated all of its rivals. In the knockout stage, the Russians defeated

Angola Angola, officially the Republic of Angola, is a country on the west-Central Africa, central coast of Southern Africa. It is the second-largest Portuguese-speaking world, Portuguese-speaking (Lusophone) country in both total area and List of c ...

in the quarterfinal, and in the marathon semi-final match between Norway claimed the deciding point in overtime. In the final, Russia defeated France to claim its first Olympic gold in women's handball. At the

2018 European Championships The 2018 European Championships were the first edition of the European Championships (multi-sport event), European Championships. It was a multi-sport event which took place in Berlin, Germany, and Glasgow, Scotland, United Kingdom (with Edinburg ...

, the last time under the guidance of Trefilov, Russia broke through the final for the first time since 2006. Russia lost to host France, who took its first championship title.

2019–20: Ambros Martin as new head coach

In August 2019, national team's head coach Trefliov was replaced by

Rostov-Don Rostov-Don () is a professional female handball team from Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Established in 1965, the club was called Rostselmash until 2002. Rostov-Don is competing in the Russian Super League. They have won the league seven times, in 1994, 2 ...

's Ambros Martin. Trefilov took the post as vice-president of the Handball Federation of Russia. Team Russia entered the 2019 World Championships as the main favourite. The squad, primarily including 20 players, was reduced to 18 players; injured Antonina Skorobogatchenko and alternate

Olga Shcherbak Olga Viktorovna Shcherbak (; born 14 March 1998) is a Russian handball player who plays for HC Lada. Achievements *Russian Super League The Russian Superleague (, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the ...

were dismissed. The Russian team, after winning eight matches in a row was eventually defeated by the

Dutch Dutch or Nederlands commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands ** Dutch people as an ethnic group () ** Dutch nationality law, history and regulations of Dutch citizenship () ** Dutch language () * In specific terms, i ...

in the semi-finals by a one-point difference, which happened after a last-minute shot in the second half, leaving a final result of 32–33 for Russia against the Netherlands. Russia went on to win the bronze match against Norway, 33–28; this was the first time since

2009 2009 was designated as the International Year of Astronomy by the United Nations to coincide with the 400th anniversary of Galileo Galilei's first known astronomical studies with a telescope and the publication of Astronomia Nova by Joha ...

that the Russians won a medal at the Worlds. Russia went to the 2020 Europeans with less optimism; three injured top players – Elena Mikhaylichenko, Anna Sen and Anna Viakhireva – had to skip the championships; reduced team practice sessions of only one week, for the first time taking place in a sports school hall; missing test matches due to the worldwide situation imposed by the

COVID-19 outbreak The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Soon after, ...

. Russia started well on the Championships, finishing first in its group in the preliminary round. In the main round, the Russians defeated

Montenegro , image_flag = Flag of Montenegro.svg , image_coat = Coat of arms of Montenegro.svg , coa_size = 80 , national_motto = , national_anthem = () , image_map = Europe-Mont ...

, played a draw match against

and lost against

. As a result, they did not qualify for the semifinals. Martin decided to retire from his position as head coach, expressing his will to focus on family life instead.

2021: Alekseyev replaces Martin

After Martin retired in December 2020,

's Alexey Alekseyev, who previously served as assistant coach for the national team and was the head coach of Luch, replaced the Spaniard. Furthermore, the coaching staff was renewed, now featuring former handball player Olga Akopyan and

's assistant coach Tomáš Hlavatý. Also, Trefilov took the position as consultant. Prior to the

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

2020 Summer Olympics The officially the and officially branded as were an international multi-sport event that was held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some of the preliminary sporting events beginning on 21 July 2021. Tokyo ...

, which were postponed to July–August 2021 due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

, team Russia went through the Hungarian leg of the qualification tournament, which took place

Győr Győr ( , ; ; names of European cities in different languages: E-H#G, names in other languages) is the main city of northwest Hungary, the capital of Győr-Moson-Sopron County and Western Transdanubia, Western Transdanubia region, and – halfwa ...

. Two of four participating teams were granted a ticket to the upcoming Olympics. Russia won all three matches against

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and

. The squad for the Olympics was announced on 2 June. Prior to the Olympics, on 26 June Russia played a friendly match against the Netherlands in Japan. A week later they played another friendly match, losing a second time to the Dutch team. Goalkeeper Anastasia Lagina and outside left Daria Samokhina were named alternates. The team lost its opening Olympic match to Sweden, then drew Hungary, and after that went on a five-match winning streak all the way to the gold medal game, beating Norway in the semi-finals by one point, just as they did in 2016. And just as in 2016, Russia faced France in the final. This time, the French prevailed, 30–25, but Russia won silver, its third Olympic medal after Soviet collapse. On 23 September 2021, Lyudmila Bodniyeva was announced as the team's new head coach, after Alekseyev's contract ran out.

2022: Suspension from international competition

In reaction to the

2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine On 24 February 2022, , starting the largest and deadliest war in Europe since World War II, in a major escalation of the Russo-Ukrainian War, conflict between the two countries which began in 2014. The fighting has caused hundreds of thou ...

, the

banned Russian and Belarusian athletes and officials, and the

suspended the national teams of Russia and Belarus as well as Russian and Belarusian clubs competing in European handball competitions. Referees, officials, and commission members from Russia and Belarus will not be called upon for future activities, and new organisers will be sought for the YAC 16 EHF Beach Handball EURO and the Qualifier Tournaments for the Beach Handball EURO 2023, which were to be held in Moscow.

Results

Honours

Olympic Games

World Championship

European Championship

Other tournaments

* Carpathian Trophy 1995 – Second place * Carpathian Trophy 1997 – Second place * Carpathian Trophy 2000 – Winner * Møbelringen Cup 2001 – Winner * Carpathian Trophy 2002 – Third place * Møbelringen Cup 2004 – Third place *

Møbelringen Cup 2005 The Møbelringen Cup 2005 was the fifth edition of the Handball tournament Møbelringen Cup. It was held in Bodø (town), Bodø, Steinkjer (town), Steinkjer, and Trondheim (city), Trondheim, Norway. The tournament started on 24 November 2005 and fin ...

– Second place *

Møbelringen Cup 2006 The 2006 Møbelringen Cup was the 6th edition of the handball tournament Møbelringen Cup. It was held in Hamar, Gjøvik and Lillehammer, Norway. The tournament started on 24 November 2006 and finished on 26 November. Norway women's national handba ...

– Second place * Møbelringen Cup 2007 – Second place * Møbelringen Cup 2008 – Second place * Møbelringen Cup 2009 – Second place * Møbelringen Cup 2015 – Winner *

Møbelringen Cup 2017 Møbelringen Cup 2017 was the 17th edition of the handball tournament Møbelringen Cup. It held in Norway, in the municipality Fjell which is west for the city Bergen. The tournament started on 23 November and finished on 26 November 2017 in the le ...

– Second place * Carpathian Trophy 2018 – Third place

Team

Current squad

Squad for the

2021 World Women's Handball Championship The 2021 IHF World Women's Handball Championship, the 25th event by the International Handball Federation, was held in Spain from 1 to 19 December 2021. On 18 October 2018, at a congress in Doha, Qatar, the IHF announced that the World Championsh ...

. Head coach: Lyudmila Bodniyeva

Notable players

Several Russian players have seen their individual performance recognized at international tournaments, either as

Most Valuable Player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

, best defense player or as a member of the All-Star Team. ;MVP * Liudmila Bodnieva, 2005 World Championship * Liudmila Postnova, 2009 World Championship * Anna Vyakhireva, 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics; 2018 European Championship ;All-Star Team *

, 1995 and 1997 World Championship * Natalia Malakhova, 1997 World Championship * Irina Poltoratskaya, 2001 World Championship * Liudmila Bodnieva, 2001 and 2005 World Championship; 2002, 2004 and 2006 European Championship * Inna Suslina, 2006 European Championship; 2009 World Championship * Yana Uskova, 2007 World Championship * Liudmila Postnova, 2008 Summer Olympics * Irina Bliznova, 2008 Summer Olympics * Polina Kuznetsova, 2007 World Championship; 2012 European Championship; 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics * Emiliya Turey, 2011 World Championship * Daria Dmitrieva, 2016 Summer Olympics * Anna Vyakhireva, 2019 World Championship; 2020 Summer Olympics ;Best defense player * Nadezda Muravyeva, 2008 European Championship

Coaching history

References

External links

*
IHF profile
{{IHF World Women's Handball Championship winners

National team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

Handball Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...

Women's national handball teams