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: • Group A: Park Dome Kumamoto • Group B: Kumamoto City Gym • Group C: Yamaga City Gym • Group D: Yatsushiro City Gym ==Preliminary round==
Preliminary round
The top 4 placed teams of each group continues to the knockout stage. The teams are ranked through the following rules. • Team with the most points (2 points for each won game, 1 point for each drawn game). • If two teams get the same points, the winner in the game between the two teams get ranked first. • If the game between the teams ended in a draw, the team with the best goal difference get ranked first. Group A ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group B ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- Group C ---- ---- ---- ---- Group D ---- ---- ---- ---- ---- ==Final round==
Final round
Bracket Round of 16 ---- Quarter-finals ---- Placement matches ---- 7th place match5th place match ---- Semi-finals ---- Bronze finalFinal == Final standings ==