On April 16 and 17, at 19.00, the Caspian Handball Cup will be held at the main arena of the Astrakhan sports and entertainment complex Zvezdny. Fans can expect a truly exciting friendly match between the women's national teams of Russia and Belarus.
Friendly games between the teams of the two states are held on a regular basis. So, two meetings were recently held in Minsk, as a result of which the Russian national team won. And now the handball players will meet again, but in Astrakhan. The organizers of the event – the Russian Handball Federation, the Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Astrakhan region – also prepared an entertainment program: fan zones, interactivity, sports workshops and much more.
"The Belarusian team is a strong opponent, with whom there is always a stubborn struggle," said Anna Kainarova, Master of Sports of Russia, silver medalist of the European Youth Championship, player of the Russian national team and the Astrakhanochka handball club. "We are determined only to win."
Mikhail Izmailov, senior coach of the Russian national team, head coach of the Astrakhanochka handball club, believes that our city was chosen for this match not by chance, because the Astrakhan arena is considered one of the best in the country.
"It was in Zvezdny that the qualification tournament was held in the spring of 2016, following which the Russian women's handball team won a ticket to the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, which they triumphantly won," he noted. "And in 2017, the Russian team defeated the Polish national team on our site in the fight for entry to the World Cup."
The Russian women's national team started training matches today at the Novogorsk training center near Moscow before the games in Astrakhan. It consists of the players of Astrakhanochka Anastasia Ryabtseva, Anna Kainarova and Ksenia Ilyina.
Photo: Ministry of Physical Culture and Sports of the Astrakhan region.