The Chinese Handball Association launched a new men's super league in Beijing on Wednesday.

The league will be played in a single round-robin format to decide the rankings from June 28 to August 18 in several cities, including the capital Beijing, Jiangmen and Suzhou. 

On the basis of the rankings, a double defeat elimination system will be in place to decide the champions. 

Wang Tao, the president of the China Handball Association, said during the launch that the Chinese Men's Handball Super League is a brave venture and is a part of China's sports reform. He also mentioned that it's an important measure to promote the reform of handball projects and do a good job at the top level of the sport.

The organizers said the group aims to enrich the diversity of competitive sports events in China by building handball leagues and strengthening international cooperation, and constantly exploring new modes of event operation with Chinese characteristics.

Since winning the Asian Games in 1982, Chinese men's handball has hardly made an international mark and has been quite lackluster over the past couple of decades.

Wang added that the new league is not only the highest level of domestic men's handball but also “the embodiment of the diversification of China's sports professional league reform.”