For the 19th time in history, the People’s Republic of China will be at the start of the IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, trying to replicate their form in the 1980s, when they first took part, when they finished sixth three times and seventh one time.

There was a dip in the Asian side’s form since then, with China failing to make the top=10 since 1991, coming close in 2005, when they ended up on the 13th place. Nevertheless, this will mark their return to competition after a six-years hiatus, missing out on Slovenia 2022, due to Covid-19 restrictions.

Nevertheless, the People’s Republic of China team are on the rise, after finishing on the second place and sealing the silver medal at the 2023 AHF Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship, a big surprise judging the level of the opposition.

China won their preliminary round group, with four wins out of four matches and doubled down in the semi-finals, with a shocking 28:27 win over Japan, which sent them to the final, where they faced the Republic of Korea, the big favourites of the competition.

They lost big, 15:34, but China clinched the seventh silver medal in the continental competition, enabling them to earn a ticket to North Macedonia 2024, where they face Sweden, Czechia and Algeria in the preliminary round.

Sealing a main round berth will be difficult, but the free-flowing Asian team can cause a bit of damage in the process, hoping to seal a place between the top 16 teams in the world.

Key players: Yuting Liu (left wing, Hongyan Zhuang (right wing), Jing Liang (centre back)

Qualification: 2023 AHF Asian Women's Junior Handball Championship: Silver medal

History in the competition: 1981: 6th, 1983: 13th, 1985: 6th, 1987: 7th, 1989: 6th, 1991: 10th, 1993: 15th, 1995: 17th, 1997: 14th, 1999: 10th, 2001: 17th, 2003: 16th, 2005: 13th, 2010: 17th, 2012: 22nd, 2014: 19th, 2016: 18th, 2018: 21st

Group at North Macedonia 2024: Group E (Sweden, Czechia, People’s Republic of China, Algeria)