After a period of disappointment, Russia are hoping that EHF EURO 2020 can bring back the kind of successes the national team regularly enjoyed in the past.

However, their failure to qualify for EHF EURO 2018 and their 14th place finish at the World Championships in 2019 has been quickly forgotten following a fine qualification campaign that saw them win four of their six matches to earn their place at this year’s event.

Head coach Eduard Koksarov, who starred as a player and won the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, is tasked with bringing the glory days back to Russian handball. In their first four European Championships, Russia won gold once (1996), silver twice (1994, 2000) and finished fourth once (1998).

The national team’s record, which also includes two World Championship titles – won in 1993 and 1997 – read wells overall but it’s their performances in recent years that has frustrated the Russians.

Their omission from EHF EURO 2018 was the first time in the tournament’s history that Russia were not present at the finals but their performances in qualifying for EHF EURO 2020 suggest that the good times could return to a nation where expectation was always high.

DANIIL SHISHKAREV

Captain and one of the most experienced and gifted players among the Russia side, Daniil is a multiple winner of the Russian championship but now plies his trade in North Macedonia with Vardar. He joined the club in 2014 and has since gone on to win a host of big titles, including the VELUX EHF Champions League twice, in 2017 and 2019. A regular at several World and EHF EURO events, he remains one of the nation’s top stars.

DMITRII ZHITNIKOV

A multiple Russian champions, he Dmitri began his career with Chekhovskie Medvedi before moving to Poland to play for Orlen Wisla Plock. He soon joined SC Pick Szeged of Hungary in 2017 where he went onto to win the Hungarian champion and cup. As the main centre back in the national team, Dmitrii has become a major part of the side and a powerhouse of Russians’ offensive play.

Russian coach Eduard Koksharov took charge of the national team in the summer of 2017, replacing Dmitrii Torgovanov. Also working as a sports director at Vardar in North Macedonia, he has seen the side lift the EHF Champions League twice, in 2017 and 2019. As a player he enjoyed a successful career, winning the EHF Champions League and domestic titles in Russia and Slovenia. At international level, he was part of the Russian side that won Olympic gold in 2000 and took silver at the EHF EURO in the same year.