The Dutch handball players have picked up again after the disappointing trip to Tokyo, where the quarterfinals against France already formed the final station at the Olympic Games. The European Championship qualifiers started with a 38-27 victory over Belarus.
That happened in Almere with a new national coach on the bench. Emmanuel Mayonnade had to make way for Monique Tijsterman, the Frenchman’s assistant at the national women’s team. Not all players are equally happy with the quick changing of the guard.
“I think it’s a shame the way everything turned out,” says veteran Danick Snelder. “It all went so fast after the Olympics. It was a surprise for us in the end.”
Internationally refined
She already belonged to the group of internationals when Henk Groener said goodbye in 2015. The players wanted to make the step to the world top and believed they could only do so under internationally renowned coaches.
They came in the person of Helle Thomsen first and then Mayonnade too. The desired results were not forthcoming, with the world title in 2019 among the latter as the indisputable highlight. And now the Orange has to continue with Tijsterman, who lacks that international experience.
–
