MOSCOW, June 30 Head coach of the Norwegian handball club «Vipers» Ole Gustav Ekstad admitted that the signing of the contract with the Russian Olympic champion Anna Vyakhireva was preceded by numerous political consultations and her candidacy was approved at all levels. Vyakhireva moved to the Norwegian club on June 30. The contract with the 27-year-old Russian woman is for one season. For the past six years, Vyakhireva has represented Rostov-Don. «This process was political. We consulted with the Norwegian Handball Association, our sponsors, politicians and many other people. And received very positive feedback from everyone. That was our opinion, but we tried to check it properly,» VG quotes Ekstad. «I thought a lot about how we should treat the fact that she is Russian. She is a neat, correct girl. I have no doubts about this, although there can be many opinions , we did not trust only our own intuition. I don’t think that now it’s easy for Russians to get settled abroad. So you can start from one year, and then we’ll see, «added the coach. Vyakhireva has represented Rostov-Don since 2016, five times won the championship of Russia, the Cup and the Super Cup of the country with the team, became the finalist of the Champions League. As part of the Russian national team, Vyakhireva won the 2016 Olympic Games, became the silver medalist of the 2021 Games in Tokyo, and was recognized as the most valuable player in both Olympic tournaments. Also on her account is the bronze of the World Championship and the silver of the European Championship.
