Döll's superb journey finally brings a win at the Olympics

2024 has been a truly eventful year for Germany left wing Antje Döll. In April, she was one of the players which helped Germany secure their first Olympics berth since Beijing 2008, by winning the matches against Slovenia, Montenegro and Paraguay at the Olympic Qualification Tournament #2.

Two months later, she was also on the court in the maiden EHF FINAL4 appearance for a German team, SG BBM Bietigheim, the big underdogs of the season, which made the final, lost against Györi Audi ETO KC.

And now, the summer has been completed by Döll’s first appearance at the Olympic Games, at 35 years old, when she could hardly believe that her lifelong dream, of representing the country on the highest possible scene, would ever come true.

“It was a really big dream to be at the Olympics. Now after three matches, I can really feel we are here. The special thing is that we are not in the normal way, like in a hotel, we are in the Olympic Village. We sleep and eat there. Of course, there are many great athletes – men and women – so that is totally different. The feeling is different. When you think about it, it's really crazy,” says Döll.

“For me, it's better to think about only handball and our matches because it's a little bit easier to perform like this, just being focused”.

Of course, Germany did not have the perfect start in the women’s competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, with losses against the Republic of Korea, 22:23, and Sweden, 28:31, making the match against Slovenia a must-win one. Lose for the third time and elimination was definitely on the cards.

But Germany did not only win. They made a statement, securing their largest win in history at the Olympic Games, while also scoring 41 goals, a feature achieved only by other four teams in history – Austria (45), Netherlands (43), Hungary (42) and the Republic of Korea (41).

Germany’s 41:22 win also gives them the tie-breaker against Slovenia, but also in a possible three-way tie against Slovenia and the Republic of Korea, which is still possible in such a well-balanced competition at Paris 2024.

“It was a really good performance, but I thought before. We are now really happy. I wish we could play now directly against Denmark because we are full of energy. Maybe we should play every match at nine o’clock in the morning, it went out quite good for us this time,” smiled Döll.

The first results also saw Germany’s status in the competition switch from one of the contenders for a medal to being underdogs, as the battle is now on for a quarter-finals berth, as Germany do face probably the strongest sides in the group in their last two matches – Denmark and Norway.

|I hope we can write a story for ourselves. We had a really bad start. I think we can win more games than a single one. I hope we are ready for a win against Denmark and get more points. Remember, at club level, In Bietigheim, we went to the Champions League final. It was a really great feeling. We are the underdogs and now we are underdogs too. I like this position. Hopefully, we will manage to go to the quarter-finals.

For Döll, a player who just might have the last chance to ever feature at the Olympics, this has been a true roller-coaster ride. Especially as she shared her handball journey with a part-time job as a police officer, as she is now a crime inspector superintendent in Germany.

“We all write our stories. I just hope ours will be successful in Paris,” concluded the Germany left wing, who already scored 14 goals in the women’s handball competition at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.