Hendrikse: Thüringer are stronger than expected

“At every draw event, right from the first qualification round, we were drawn against the strongest possible opponents. And from round to round we recognised that maybe we are much stronger than we had expected ourselves. Definitely, it was a really long and steep road to Graz, but now we are there,” she adds.

Thüringer HC faced the internationally experienced sides of Chambray Touraine and IK Sävehof in the qualification rounds - and made it to the group phase.

“Other teams were favourites, but again we managed to beat them and even finished first in our group,” says Hendrikse. Her club left Paris 92 and SCM Ramnicu Valcea behind and were the first team to be confirmed for the quarter-finals.

The next step was a terrible start in the first leg of the quarter-finals in Sola, Norway. Finally, THC earned a hard-fought 35:35 draw.

“We had won all our home matches in the European League, and we were sure and confident to go all the way to Graz on home ground,” says Hendrikse. Thüringer HC kept their clear home record with a 27:24 victory – and hope to continue like that on neutral ground on Graz.

“I am sure many THC fans will make it to the EHF Finals, and as we have some Austrian players and Herbert Müller as the Austrian head coach in our team, we even hope for some support from the Austrians. They even can wear their national colours, as red is also our club colour,” laughs Hendrikse.

The THC fate continued in the semi-final draw, as again the strongest possible team will be their opponent on Saturday (15:30 CEST, live on EHFTV): Ikast, the only club to have won all previous matches in the competition.

“Of course Ikast are the favourites, but we have proved this season that sometimes the favourites lose against us. All four teams travel to Graz to make it on the winners’ podium, so do we. And maybe it is even easier to face Ikast on Saturday, when our batteries are fully charged,” says Hendrikse.

Hendrikse left the Netherlands at the age of 22, when she joined Norwegian side Gjerpen from Amsterdam. After two years up in the north, she transferred to German club Neckarsulm, where she played for three seasons and became a key player.

Last summer, Hendrikse arrived in Bad Langensalza as one of nine new THC players.

“Like for the whole team, I was positively surprised about my individual development. I did not expect to take such a key role and score so many goals. As a wing you always depend on the back court players, and in our team, it really fits well,” says Hendrikse on her 52 season goals in the European League, including some converted penalties.

For the EHF Finals in Graz, she counts on the team, the motivation of coach Herbert Müller (“when he does not say a word, you know something is wrong”) and the fighting spirit: “Though Annika Lott plays an impressive season and Sonja Frey is back on track after some injuries, it is all about the team at THC. This is our key strength, and is what we count on in the semi against Ikast. I am sure we can cause another sensation, if our defence is focused and we can start our counter-attack match play.”

After SG BBM Bietigheim ended a 30-year wait for German clubs to finish on the winners’ podium of the women’s second tier competition last year, THC and their Bundesliga rivals BV Borussia 09 Dortmund (facing Nykøbing Falster Håndbold in the second semi-final) have the chance to repeat this success.

“After Bietigheim failed early in the EHF Champions League, now we have the chance to underline the strength of the German league. But to be honest – if we make it to the final, I would prefer facing Nykøbing, as we have played often against Dortmund already. But we cannot choose: it comes as it comes,” Hendrikse concludes.

Photos © Steffen Prößdorf, Hans Lie