Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia are withdrawing from the women’s handball tournament IHF Nations Trophy in Kranevo because of the inclusion of Russia and Belarus. The competition will be held from November 25 to 29, and following the withdrawal of the three Baltic teams, six national teams will take part.
Group A features Russia, Belgium and Kosovo, while Group B – Bulgaria, Armenia and Belarus. The European stage is part of the regional format of the tournament, organized by the International Handball Federation. The winner earns the right to participate in the IHF Inter-Continental Trophy.
The three Baltic federations withdrew as soon as the lineup of participants was being formed, after learning that Russia and Belarus had been admitted to the competition. The reason is their opposition to the return of the Russian team to international handball after more than four years of absence because of the restrictions introduced following the start of the war in Ukraine.
In addition to the federations of Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, those of Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland have also spoken out against Russia’s admission. Nevertheless, it was specifically the three Baltic countries that declined the invitation to the tournament in Bulgaria.
„They are already boycotting us. The Baltic states refused to come to the Nations Cup,“ says Lyudmila Bodniyeva, head coach of the Russian national team.Russia is returning to an official international competition after a long absence, but is starting at the lower levels of the system because of its lost ranking and absence from qualifying tournaments. The Russian women’s team has three Olympic titles.
Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia’s withdrawal does not cancel the tournament. Matches between the six remaining national teams will be played in Kranevo, with Bulgaria in a group with Armenia and Belarus, while Russia will face Belgium and Kosovo.
For Bulgaria, the competition will be the home European stage of the IHF Nations Trophy. The tournament is part of a regional format in which the winners of the individual stages advance to the intercontinental competition.
Sources: corner.dir.bg, bgnes.bg