Following the doping ruling in the sports arbitration court Cas in December, Russia will not be allowed to compete in international championships for two years.
Therefore, the team of the Russian Handball Federation is the name that applies to the collection of Russians who compete under a neutral flag in the men's World Cup in Egypt.
Missed the chance to decide
A small bang was close directly in the premiere against Belarus in Alexandria.
The teams followed each other throughout the match and at most differed two goals in either direction, but in the end it was the Russian Daniil Shishkarev who at the position 32-32 missed the chance to decide in the closing seconds.
Belarus goalkeeper Ivan Maroz saved Shishkarev's edge shot.
Vranje's Slovenia meets South Korea
The match was the first in group H, where the top three will be merged with the top three in Sweden's group G in next week's intermediate round.
Other teams in group H are Slovenia, which is coached by Swedish Ljubomir Vranjes, and the expected jumbo South Korea.
They meet later tonight.
Sweden also premieres tonight, against Northern Macedonia in Cairo.