Russia and China are considering a joint bid for the Women’s World Handball Championship, which would strengthen their bilateral cooperation in the sport.
“We are thinking about submitting a joint bid to host the Women’s Handball World Championship in 2029 or 2031,” said Russian handball chief Sergey Shishkarev at a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Tao.
“Such a large-scale tournament has never been held in such large countries, it will be very interesting,” added Shishkarev, according to TASS.
The next Women’s World Championship will be held in 2023 in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It will then be followed by events in the Netherlands, Germany, and Hungary in 2025.
The Chinese women’s and men’s national handball teams arrived in Russia to participate in training exercises and friendly exhibition matches.
China last hosted the event in 2009, which was won by Russia. Russia last hosted the Championships in 2005.
The visit by the Chinese teams was the first significant event carried out in the framework of the Sino-Russian sporting accord between China and Russia that was signed by both President Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin at the Beijing Olympics earlier this year.
A tournament of ‘The Friendship and Peace Cup’ between Russia, China and Belarus is slated for play in April, according to handball chief Shishkarev.
Shishkarev also commented the two countries are considering launching a new league for the eastern regions of China and Russia to grow the sport.
The new bilateral relationship is a direct response from the sanctions imposed on Russia from the conflict in the Ukraine.
On March 7, the International Handball Federation (IHF), announced it would not allow officials and delegates from China and Russia to participate in any events.
The Russian handball delegation has appealed that decision stating:
“As part of the legal documents in the charter of the International Handball Federation there is a clause according to which there should be no discrimination on the basis of race, gender, ethnic origin, skin color, culture, religion, political beliefs, marital status, sexual orientation or other grounds.”
Several Russian officials and politicians have criticized the bans imposed on Russian athletes. They noted that the IHF actions contradict guidelines of maintaining politics apart from international sporting competitions.