Van der Heijden passed over to European Handball Championships as a replacement for Van Maurik

Laura van der Heijden

NOS Sport

She was initially passed over by the new national coach Henrik Sinell, but Laura van der Heijden has been added to the selection for the European Handball Championships, which will be held from Thursday in Austria, Hungary and Switzerland.

The record international of the Dutch team (289 caps) replaces Alieke van Maurik, who was injured last week.

Signell, appointed at the beginning of October, left 34-year-old Van der Heijden and regular player Estavana Polman out of his first selection and also did not reserve a place for the experienced duo in his European Championship selection. But he found Van der Heijden willing to fill the vacant position in the group. “This shows how loyal Laura is to the team.”

‘Big disappointment’

Signell simultaneously sympathized with 19-year-old Van Maurik. “It is a big disappointment for her and also for us that she has not recovered sufficiently to travel to the European Championships. Fortunately, she is still young and has a great future ahead of her.”

The Dutch women will play their first group match in Innsbruck on Friday. Iceland is then the opponent. Matches against Germany and Ukraine will follow later.

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