{"id":179290,"date":"2026-03-13T17:00:31","date_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:00:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/179290\/"},"modified":"2026-03-13T17:00:33","modified_gmt":"2026-03-13T14:00:33","slug":"handball-legend-rusianka-elected-as-head-of-belarus-basketball-federation","status":"publish","type":"articles","link":"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/en\/news\/179290\/","title":{"rendered":"Handball legend Rusianka elected as head of Belarus\u2019 basketball federation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>March<\/strong><strong> 13, <\/strong><strong><em>Pozirk<\/em><\/strong><strong><em>.<\/em><\/strong><strong> <\/strong>Former Belarusian handball star Siarhiej Rucienka has been elected as head of the Belarusian Basketball Federation (BBF).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>His predecessor, Foreign Minister Maksim Ry\u017eanko\u016d, the son of the late basketball player U\u0142adzimir Ry\u017eanko\u016d (1945\u20131996), has been awarded a medal \u201cfor outstanding achievements\u201d by the National Olympic Committee, the foreign ministry reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A former stalwart of the Belarus national handball team, Rucienka also played for major European clubs including Barcelona, Real Sociedad and Celje. In addition to his handball career, he led the Belarusian Tennis Federation from November 2021 until recently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"insert-block\">\n\n    <div class=\"insert-block__img\">\n        <img decoding=\"async\" width=\"354\" height=\"236\" src=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc-354x236.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc-354x236.jpg 354w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc-734x490.jpg 734w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc-178x118.jpg 178w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/pozirk.online\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/zakharchenko_noc.jpg 1128w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 354px) 100vw, 354px\" \/>                        <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Society<\/label>\n\n                            <label class=\"insert-block__tag--mobile\"> Sport<\/label>\n\n                <\/div>\n    <div class=\"insert-block__text\">\n                    <label class=\"insert-block__tag\">Society, Sport<\/label>\n                <h3 class=\"insert-block__title\">Ex-BATE executive Zachar\u010danka elected chairman of Belarusian Tennis Federation<\/h3>\n        <div class=\"insert-block__descr\">March 10, Pozirk. A general meeting of the Belarusian Tennis Federation (BTF) has elected Alaksandar Zachar\u010danka, a former deputy director of the Barysa\u016d-based BATE Football Club, as the federation\u2019s chairman, the National Olympic Committee (NOC) reported. Zachar\u010danka said his priorities &#8230;<\/div>\n        <a class=\"insert-block__btn-block\" href=\"\/en\/news\/178820\">\n            <button class=\"btn\">\n                <div class='btn__text'>Read<\/div>\n            <\/button>\n        <\/a>\n    <\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March 13, Pozirk. Former Belarusian handball star Siarhiej Rucienka has been elected as head of the Belarusian Basketball Federation (BBF). His predecessor, Foreign Minister Maksim Ry\u017eanko\u016d, the son of the late basketball player U\u0142adzimir Ry\u017eanko\u016d (1945\u20131996), has been awarded a medal \u201cfor outstanding achievements\u201d by the National Olympic Committee, the foreign ministry reported. A former [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":63993,"template":"","rubric":[15,32],"class_list":["post-179290","articles","type-articles","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","rubric-society","rubric-sport"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Handball legend Rusianka elected as head of Belarus\u2019 basketball federation | Pozirk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"March 13, Pozirk. Former Belarusian handball star Siarhiej Rucienka has been elected as head of the Belarusian Basketball Federation (BBF). 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