Over the past decade, Germany have relied heavily on youth in women’s handball, promoting players in the senior team at a very fast pace, making the European side one of the youngest at the recent editions of the IHF Women’s World Championship.

The current captain of the Germany senior women’s national team, Emily Bölk, was the MVP of the 2014 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship. Two years later, when she was only 18 years old, she was already making her debut in the senior team.

Making the cut in the All-Star team at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, as the Best Young Player of the competition, Viola Leuchter also cut her teeth in the younger age categories, also made her debut when she was only 18 years old, and was part of the team which featured at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

Other players like Julia Maidhof or Alina Grijseels also made their debuts age 21 and 22 respectively, therefore emphasing the direction taken by Germany over the last years, in trying to build a strong team, which can compete for medals, with the next edition of the IHF Women’s Youth World Championship being co-hosted by them and the Netherlands.

For Marlene Tucholke, that edition of the senior World Championship will probably come too early. But the future looks bright for the left back, which was the leading scorer at the 2024 IHF Women’s Youth World Championship before the last two matches of the sixth day.

Tucholke, the tallest player in the competition, at 1.91m tall, is a towering left back, with a penchant for scoring goals. She hit 27 of the 40 shots she tried, for a fantastic 68% shot efficiency, leading Germany to three wins and a draw in their first four matches, lifting her side close to a quarter-finals berth.

Her potential looks huge, as her skills are fantastic at this age, with already a strong shot, an impressive handball IQ, an understanding of the defensive concepts, and a capacity of creating chances for her teammates, with the opponents shifting their coverage in defence on her. 

“I feel great to be here, in China, at this World Championship, where the best teams in the world try to win the title. For us, it has been good until now, because we won the first three matches, but the feeling is not that good today [Monday], after this draw against Switzerland, a match we could have won,” says Tucholke.

Last year, Germany have secured the bronze medal at the W17 EHF EURO 2023, making them one of the top teams of this generation, as they aim to build up on that success even further at China 2024. 

At this level, Germany have a history of good results, with Bölk’s generation securing the silver medal at North Macedonia 2014, while the European side has also finished 5th four years later, at Poland 2018. This time around, they could also be in the mix, as a quarter-finals berth would ensure a top-8 finish.

With a match against Spain in the last day of the main round for Germany, a win would see them win their group, and potentially face an easier opponent, from a crop of three possible teams – Japan, the Netherlands and France.

“Of course, we want to go as far as possible and win a medal. That would be the ultimate dream and we will work to make that possible, but we know the opponents are also strong,” adds Tucholke.

Still 16 years old, Tucholke dominates on the back position and has impressed at HC Leipzig, her club level, having made her debut in the German second league, while also playing at the junior level in the domestic competition. And if her trajectory will be like this, Tucholke will likely be in the loop for more sooner rather than later.

“Of course that my dream is to be in the national team of Germany, the senior one. It is anyone’s dream, I think, any handball player who starts. But I still have some more steps until there. But I dream about it, as well as playing in a big club in the future, it is only normal,” concludes the left back.