Officials agreed on October 7 to rename Kyiv’s Palace of Sports in honor of Igor Turchin, a move supported at the General Assembly of the National Olympic Committee of Ukraine. The proposal was presented on October 6 by Andriy Melnyk, president of the Ukrainian Handball Federation, and Sports Minister Matviy Bidnyi said he would assist with implementation, according to Sport News 24 citing Suspilne Sport.
Turchin led Kyiv’s Spartak from 1969 and built one of the world’s dominant women’s handball teams: under his leadership Spartak won 20 Soviet championships and 13 European Cups. The USSR national team he helped form won Olympic gold in 1976 and 1980 and bronze in 1988; his athletes collected multiple world championship medals. Turchin was named best coach in 1976, prepared dozens of Olympic and world champions, and died in 1993 during a European Cup match.
The decision revives a campaign that dates back to soon after Turchin’s death and arrives as the handball community marks the 90th anniversary of his birth. Officials have not published a formal renaming timeline; readers should expect further details from the NOC or city authorities.