In the past seven editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship they took part in, Kazakhstan have never managed to finish higher than the 18th place, a performance set at their maiden appearance, at France 2007.

Since then, Kazakhstan have only missed two editions of the world handball flagship competition, at Serbia 2013 and Germany 2017, but have not made serious improvements in their performance at the previous editions.

The Islamic Republic of Iran were the darlings of the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship, the edition where they made their debut in the world handball flagship competition, marking another crucial step in the development of the sport in the country.

Between 2015 and 2019 there was no European or World Championship without the Netherlands on the podium. Two silver medals in 2015 and 2016 at the IHF Women's World Championship and respectively European Championship were followed by two bronze medals the following years in 2017 and 2018. Finally, at Japan 2019 the squad celebrated their biggest achievement in history by winning the gold medal at the World Championship. 

Four years ago, at Japan 2019, Senegal made their debut at the IHF Women’s World Championship, delivering some impressive performances under the guidance of experienced coach, Frédéric Bougeant, with the African side ending up on the 18th place, after some nail-biting matches in the preliminary round.

In fact, the 25:29 losses against Montenegro and Romania just underlined how big Senegal’s potential is, yet the African side missed out on a place at Spain 2021, after finishing on a disappointing fifth place at the 2021 CAHB African Women's Handball Championship.

Congo made their first appearance at the IHF Women’s World Championship 41 years ago, when they finished 12th at Hungary 1982. Since that moment, the African side took part in five more editions of the world handball flagship competition, with their best performance coming at France 2007, when they finished 17th.

Over the last years, Cameroon emerged as one of the top African sides in women’s handball, having finished twice on the second position at the CAHB African Women's Handball Championship, in 2021 and 2022, losing the final both times against Angola.

Montenegro wrote history and they did it in style. From the 22nd place at the World Championship 2021 to the podium and bronze medal at the EHF EURO 2022, it was just a step and only 11 months, but Montenegro completed the challenge. It was a perfect farewell for Montenegro legend Jovanka Radicevic, who bid an emotional farewell to the national team, on a high.

Two years ago, at Spain 2021, an outbreak of COVID-19 inside the team’s roster saw the People’s Republic of China withdraw for the competition, finishing on the last place, 32nd, as the Asian side had previously conceded three losses against Austria, Argentina and hosts Spain in the preliminary round.

With nine losses in the past 10 matches, China will now head to Denmark/Norway/Sweden 2023 with newfound ambitions, aiming to make the main round for the first time since 2009, when they hosted the competition.