For the third time in history, the IHF Women’s World Championship will be hosted by Denmark, as the handball-mad country aims to deliver an excellent competition alongside Scandinavian co-hosts Norway and Sweden.

In both the previous editions when Denmark were the hosts, they finished on the sixth place in the world handball flagship competition, but the ambitions are bigger right now, as the Scandinavian side is eyeing a medal, after having vastly improved over the last years.

It would be a logical progression, after Denmark finished fourth at the EHF EURO 2020, which they hosted, third at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and second at the EHF EURO 2022. Therefore, winning the title here would be a logical next step for Jesper Jensen’s side.

“If only it would work like this,” laughs Kathrine Heindahl, the defensive lynchpin of the current Denmark squad, which has been getting stronger and stronger over the last few years. 

“But I would not mind, surely, because winning the world title would be amazing for us, for all the players in the team. Yet it will not be easy, in spite of playing at home, in Herning, for as long as we are alive in the competition,” continues the 31-year-old stalwart.

For years, Denmark have tried to get back into contention in major international competitions, after dominating the handball scene in the 1990s, when they secured three Olympic titles in a row – at Atlanta 1996, Sydney 2000 and Athens 2004 – three EHF EURO titles in 1994, 1996 and 2002, as well as the World Championship at Germany 1997, two years before co-hosting the world handball flagship competition with Norway.

Since then, Denmark made the semi-finals at the IHF Women’s World Championship four times, at Russia 2005, Brazil 2011, Serbia 2013 and Spain 2021, with only two bronze medals, in the last two competitions, to show for it.

While this is no easy feature, Denmark surely wants more and they will be buoyed by the home support in December, with all of their matches scheduled in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, where over 10,000 fans are expected in each match.

“Of course it is an honour to play on our home court and I hope it will be a big advantage. We were there at the EHF EURO 2020, but the stands were empty, because of the COVID-19 measures put in place, so it was a bit strange that time. Now, with everything back at normal, we hope to deliver some excellent matches and go as far as possible,” says Heindahl.

“There are no easy games, though, at a World Championship, and we are preparing for it, working hard, but I think we are on the right path, because we have been improving and the team has been getting more and more experience over the last years, so this is a huge chance for us.”

The 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship is also a qualifying event for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, where only four sides – France, Norway, Angola and the Republic of Korea – are qualified so far. 

Denmark have missed the cut in the previous two editions – Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 – therefore going back to the Olympic Games, where they have won three gold medals in only four appearances, is also a priority.

“Of course the Paris 2024 ticket is important, but we are focusing on the World Championship as a whole, because this is the competition, this is important now, this is what we want to do and we want to get a good a result as we can,” adds Heindahl.

With Denmark featuring in Herning throughout the whole competition, the advantage is big, especially as the Scandinavian side will be favoured in the preliminary round, where they face Romania, Serbia and Chile, with two European sides standing between Jesper Jensen’s side and a clean sweep of their opponents, with Chile being the big underdog in the group.

Denmark will surely not forget that they lost two crucial matches against Romania over the last years, first in the Olympic Qualification Tournament for Rio 2016, but also in the quarter-finals of the IHF Women’s World Championship in 2015.

Then, Denmark, which was supported by 12,500 fans in the Jyske Bank Boxen in Herning, conceded a painful loss on their home court, the same one where they will face Romania in December, 30:31, after extra-time, seeing their dreams of a gold medal shattered.

However, the Scandinavian side look primed to be one of the hot favourites this time around. Heindahl is the defensive lynchpin in the squad, being named the All-Star defender at the EHF EURO 2022. Denmark also have an outstanding pair of goalkeepers, Sandra Toft , the IHF Female Player of the Year 2021, and Althea Reinhardt, but also some superb talent in the back line, with Line Haugsted and Kristina Jørgensen, as well as one of the in-form wings in women’s handball in Emma Friis.

Therefore, Denmark have all the reasons to believe that they will secure a place between the top sides and qualify for the final weekend in Herning, with all the available tickets being sold until this moment.

“It is a dream to be here, definitely, and we hope to create some memories we will not forget. It will not be easy, but we are working hard to deliver the best possible outcome for us. A medal would be something very special,” concludes Heindahl.