A strong outing in the second half saw Russia power past the People’s Republic of China and secure the bronze medal at the 2026 IHF Women’s Under-16 World Championship, with a 39:33 win.

BRONZE-MEDAL MATCH
People’s Republic of China vs Russia 33:39 (19:18)

• A 7:0 run midway in the second half saw Russia take control of the match and pull away, coming after the two teams were deadlocked, 26:26, after 42 minutes
   
• There were four lead changes in the first half, but after China mounted a 4:0 unanswered run, fueled by Meishan Du, who scored three times, the Asian side took the lead, 17:15, and maintained it until the end of the first 30 minutes, 19:18
   
• Russia’s back line of Aleksandra Predybailova (eight goals), Ekaterina Korzun (seven goals and seven assists), Arina Smirnova (four goals) and Elizaveta Sapozhnikova (five goals) carried the load in the match
   
• China's top scorer was Ruixue Sun, who scored ten goals
   
• China’s Meishan Du scored six goals, to take her tally to 54 goals in the competition and leapfrog Kazakhstan’s Nurdana Kyrgyzbay as the top scorer, leapfrogging her for a single goal
   
• With a single loss in the competition, in the semi-final against Germany, Russia finished on the third place and ensured a 100% European podium at the 2026 IHF Women’s Under-16 World Championship