- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Debutants hope for main round, despite departure of twelve top stars
- Updated: September 28, 2016
Four of the 14 players from the Rio 2016 Russian Olympic gold medallist squad had been competing for Astrakhanochka – all four departed ways from the club, including the Olympic Most Valuable Player, Anna Vyakhireva to Rostov (pictured below), as well as her sister, Polina Kuznetsova (also All-star team member in Rio).
Similar to Kuznetsova, a total of seven former Astrakhan players joined Kuban Krasnodar and current Russian national team coach, Evgenii Trefilov.
In 2016, under the helm of Trefilov and Mikhail Seregin (former assistant coach and current head coach), Astrakhanochka (founded in 1993) managed to leave star-studded Rostov behind to become Russian Super Liga champions for the first time, despite the transfer of many top players.
Now, Astrakhanochka have earned their first season in the EHF Champions League, after being a part of the EHF Cup or Cup Winners’ Cup ten times before. To date, Astrakhanochka’s best result was the EHF Cup Semi-final in 2014.
Following this major transition of twelve players leaving and only four replacements, the main round is the goal in their first ever Champions League …
