The Russian team cruised to a 61-30 victory over Norway in the group stage of the competition, with their opponents returning to the European Championships for the first time since 2005.

Their closest contest came against Italy, the hosts battling to a narrow 47-46 victory in the tie.

After the defeat Russia completed their group fixtures with a 51-30 win over Israel to set-up a rematch against Italy, who won all three matches.

Russia gained revenge for their earlier loss by achieving a 47-40 victory to seal the Division C title.

Debutants Israel ended the competition on a high by beating Norway 45-35 in the third and fourth place playoff.

After their top two finishes, Russia and Italy have advanced to the European Division B Championship, scheduled to be held in October.

Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Finland and Poland had already been assured of places in the tournament, along with the host nation Switzerland.

The event is due to take place in Nottwil between October 3 and 10.

Having been relegated from Division A, after finishing in the bottom two positions at the 2015 edition of the event, both Belgium and Finland will be seeking an instant return by finishing in the promotion positions.

The promoted teams will compete at the 2017 IWRF European Championship Division A event, a qualifier to the 2018 World Championship.