1997 World Men's Handball Championship
The 1997 World Men's Handball Championship was the 15th team handball World Championship. It was held in Kumamoto, Japan and was the first World Championship not played in a European country. Russia won the championship. Venues. The organizing committee used four venues to host the 1997 World Men's Handball Championship: Preliminary round. The top 4 placed teams of each group continues to the knockout stage. The teams are ranked through the following rules.