‘Superkeeper’ Yara ten Holte in top form shortly before the World Cup: ‘Just let her shoot, I’ll grab that ball’ | Other sports

When a Hungarian player throws a ball hard at Yara ten Holte’s neck, there is a brief moment of panic in the stands. The goalkeeper makes the gesture of not being able to breathe. All the bones and muscles in that area were also mixed up equally well, she says after the match.

But she simply stayed on the field and a few minutes later produced the best save and the best assist of the evening. With a cat-like reflex she prevents a Hungarian goal, after which she sees Estavana Polman running free in the corner of her eye, all the way on the other side of the field. With eerie precision she throws the ball right into her hand and Polman outwits the goalkeeper.

It currently takes more to unnerve Ten Holte (24) than a ball on her throat. Five days before the start of the World Cup in Scandinavia, she is in top form. ‘Superkeeper’, a group of young handball fans frequently chant in the first of two farewell matches against Hungary last weekend. In the Rotterdam Top Sports Center she is one of the players with a large banner against the wall.

The fact that she remains standing for three quarters of the match shows that Ten Holte is currently in good standing with national coach Per Johansson. On Saturday evening she was chosen as the best player of the practice match won 25-23. Her 35th international match is one of her better ones.

“I am someone who needs a lot of confidence. It’s nice that I get that now. And I think I was able to pay it back,” says Ten Holte, before she makes a long line of children happy with her scribble. “I am happy that I have been able to continue the form of the past few weeks. That gives a good feeling and I will take that with me to the World Cup.” Argentina is the first opponent in the group stage in Frederikshavn, Denmark on Thursday.

This evening, Ten Holte stops balls with her arms and legs, but also with her feet, buttocks and therefore her throat. She celebrates the saves with fists towards the bench. Afterwards she explains how the interaction with the defense helped her.

“The coverage was really working hard. Then you make the easy one saves. But the moment a player comes through, you have the right flow of those balls for that. And then you make those saves too. And that gives the cover confidence and the push forward to immediately counter-attack. There were now players of whom I said: just let her shoot, I will take it.”

And in the meantime, Ten Holte also manages the coverage. “I’m constantly working on that. Those girls mainly look at the person with the ball, but sometimes I see someone walking into the corner. The girls on the bench see things happening that I don’t see, that’s why it’s important that we communicate with each other every moment of the match.”

It is indeed noticeable that the other goalies Tess Lieder and Rinka Duijndam run to Ten Holte at every time-out to encourage her and provide her with tips. “I’m happy that I was allowed to start, and if you do well, you can stay there. But it may also be that you are bad at times, then the others have to be there too. So everyone tries to motivate each other.” On Sunday, Johansson started with Lieder as the starting goalkeeper. He has the luxury of three good options under the bar.

Ten Holte shares the feeling that something beautiful is blossoming in the team. “There is such a good atmosphere. You really notice that everyone is looking forward to the World Cup. The living dream is to come home with something after a number of years without a medal. We are a team that really does it for fun. If that doesn’t shine through, it will be a difficult match or tournament. Teams win championships, but strong individuals alone won’t get you there.”