She was only 16 years old when hockey coach Marc Lammers chose her for the Dutch national team. Hockey star Lidewij Welten from Eindhoven played four times at the Olympic Games, but now that the fifth time is approaching, she is being sidelined. A choice that Lammers, as her old national coach, finds very unfortunate. Because according to him, Welten still belongs to the top of the world. “The body has to cooperate.”
Welten should have made her fifth Olympic participation next summer. But the current national coach, Paul van Ass, keeps the three-time Olympic winner aside. Lammers thinks it’s a shame, who chose her for the Dutch team at the age of 16. “She was one of the fastest players in the world. She was very explosive, but that also led to injuries.”
“It will be done someday.”
Lammers speaks highly of Welten, especially her explosiveness on the field. “She had very good actions, especially when the ball was taken away. She was so fast and so agile on the counter. She meant a lot to Dutch hockey.” Although Marc thinks it is a shame, he can also empathize with national coach Van Ass.
“Maybe the national coach thought she was too injury-prone. At the Olympic Games you are only allowed to take 16 players instead of 18. The choice may have been there somewhere.” There will therefore not be a fifth Olympic participation for Welten, which, according to Lammers, would have been a nice farewell. “I hoped that the farewell would only be after the Olympic Games. But it will be ready one day. That’s just how it is.”
“She can still handle that Olympic level.”
According to Lammers, it does not necessarily have to mean the end of Welten’s hockey career. “You have to ask her yourself whether she still has the ambition to continue. She has always been driven and has always participated. Even now, she is still one of the best attackers in the Netherlands. And in terms of quality, she can still reach that Olympic level. On.”
According to Lammers, Welten is a hockey player who has seen a lot and experienced many victories. “From the gold medal in 2008 to now. In recent years, hockey players have been winning more and more and Lidewij has been there every time. She has done excellently and we will remember her as the flying whirlwind on the field.”
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