The EHF have confirmed that three Russian players have been suspended for 20 months ©EHF

The European Handball Federation (EHF) have confirmed that they annulled the silver medal won by the Russian women’s national youth handball team at the 2017 European Championship following doping violations.

The EHF had announced in January that this would be a possibility and it has now been confirmed that under-19 team members Antonina Skorobogatchenko, Maria Duvakina and Maria Dudina had tested positive drug test for meldonium, a drug used to treat heart disease. 

The three athletes have also been given 20-month suspensions by the EHF.

As reported by Russia's official state news agency TASS, in a statement, the EHF said: "The EHF Court of Handball has released its decision in a case against the Russian Handball Federation following anti-doping infringements of three of its players at the Women’s 19 EHF Euro 2017.

"The Federation has been disqualified from the competition and all matches are lost by forfeit.

"The team’s silver medal from the Women’s 19 EHF Euro 2017 is thus also forfeited."

Antonina Skorobogatchenko, in red, is one of three Russian teenage handball players to be suspended for 20 months following a positive drugs test for meldonium ©Getty Images
Antonina Skorobogatchenko, in red, is one of three Russian teenage handball players to be suspended for 20 months following a positive drugs test for meldonium ©Getty Images

The EHF also added that the Russian Handball Federation were ordered to pay a fine of €20,000 (£17,500/$24,500) and have been suspended from participation in EHF competitions in the same category for the next two years.

The decision to annul Russia’s results means the silver and bronze medals from the tournament, which took place in Slovenia and was won by France, will now go to Denmark and Hungary, respectively.

A number of Russian athletes have been banned for using meldonium, which was added to the World Anti-Doping Agency’s banned list in 2016, in recent times.

They include tennis player Maria Sharapova and curler Alexander Krushelnitsky, winner of the Olympic bronze at Pyeongchang 2018 but who was subsequently stripped of his medal won in the mixed event.