Paris 2024 | 10 players to watch in the women's competition

23 Jul. 2024

Paris 2024 | 10 players to watch in the women's competition

Ask any player about the Olympic Games and they will say it is the pinnacle of sports, the most important competition they are ever going to play in and it is an honour to represent your country in it. Once every four years, only 12 men’s teams and only 12 women’s teams punch their tickets and aim for a medal on the biggest of stages.

Paris 2024 might be the strongest Olympic competition ever, with France as hosts, therefore creating even more space for powerhouses to secure a place and clinch their ticket to Paris. As nearly all the teams have hopes for a medal, we tried to see what is the logic behind their big ambitions.

Therefore, we tried to select some star players, from both the men’s and the women’s competitions at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, whose performance can make the difference, despite handball being a sport team.

These players are presented in no particular order and there are no two players from one side.

Stine Bredal Oftedal (Norway)

In 261 matches for the Norway women’s senior national team, Stine Bredal Oftedal has scored 732 goals. That puts her eighth in the top appearances for the most decorated team in history and ninth in the top goal scorer standings for Norway. But Oftedal is more than a scorer.

A soothing presence on and off the court, the 32-year-old centre back has been immense for Norway’s success, winning 13 medals in major international competitions, including two bronze medals at the Olympics, at Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

The Olympics title is what Oftedal is after in her last appearances in her star-studded career, where she was named the IHF World Female Player of the Year in 2019 and the MVP of the 2017 IHF Women’s World Championship. Norway will definitely miss Oftedal after Paris 2024, but her last hurrah should see her properly motivated to deliver another vintage performance.

Sandra Toft (Denmark)

Denmark have been one of the most consistent teams in the last years, winning bronze medals at the IHF Women’s World Championship in 2021 and 2023 and the silver medal at the EHF EURO 2022. Much of that success relies on a strong defence, with one of the best goalkeepers in the world leading the way.

Sandra Toft has been the All-Star goalkeeper at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship and the 2021 IHF World Female Player of the Year, thanks to some fantastic performances, where she basically lifted her team to success, being arguably the top goalkeeper in the world.

She is coming in hot at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, after winning her first title in the EHF Champions League Women, with Győri Audi ETO KC in June, delivering a perfect performance in the semi-final against Team Esbjerg, If Denmark want to return to the Olympics with a medal, they will surely need Toft firing from all cylinders.

Bruna Almeida de Paula (Brazil)

Brazil are a hotbed for talent in women’s handball and won the title at the 2013 IHF Women’s World Championship, with that success inspiring more and more players to take up the sport. 11 years ago, Bruna Almeida de Paula was only 17 years old and that title convinced her handball was the best choice.

Her arsenal is superb – she is fast, technical, intelligent and can create spaces wherever she sees fit. After being the top scorer of the 2016 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, she made the step to seniors and is considered one of the best centre backs in the world, due her dual threat, both as a scorer and as a provider.

In 2022, she was the top scorer of the 2022 South and Central American Women's Handball Championship and in June she collected her first title in the EHF Champions League Women, with Győri Audi ETO KC, being a key player for her club side on the way to the trophy.

Azenaide Carlos (Angola)

Angola have been a plucky opponent for many sides in the past editions of the Olympic Games, winning at least one match in every of the past three appearances, while also making the quarter-finals at Rio 2016.

Their physical style of playing is different from any other side at Paris 2024, but they still have some raw talent and firepower at their disposal, with players like right back Azenaide Carlos, who is unstoppable at times.

Back in 2022, she scored 17 goals in one match for her club side, CS Rapid București, in their title-sealing match against SCM Râmnicu Vâlcea. The 34-year-old right back will also play in her fifth edition of the Olympic Games, after Beijing 2008, London 2012, Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020.

And Carlos was also named the flagbearer for Angola, a huge honour for a player whose consistency and talent made her rise to the top.

Estelle Nze Minko (France)

It is always hard to isolate a player from the hugely talented France team and tell a story about how good that player makes the reigning Olympic champions, because France’s main weapon has been the team spirit and also the superb cohesiveness put in place by coach Olivier Krumbholz.

But Estelle Nze Minko is truly a generational player for this France team. None of the current France players have more apperances than the team captain, who has played 165 matches and scored 381 goals for “Les Bleuses”. Nze Minko was also the MVP of the EHF EURO 2020 and the All-Star left back at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship.

She might not be a top scorer, but her knowhow is unparalleled, both in attack and in defence, usually making things happen when France need it. Plus, Nze Minko also won everything there is to win – the gold at the Olympics, the World Championship, the European Championship and this season, the EHF Champions League Women, with Győri Audi ETO KC.

Ana Gros (Slovenia)

This was probably the last chance for the 33-year-old right back to secure a place at the Olympic Games, but Ana Gros was once again immense in this Olympic cycle for Slovenia, the only team to make their debut at Paris 2024.

Gros has always been one of the most consistent scorers at club level, while also scoring over 700 goals in 150 appearances for Slovenia women’s national team, a testament of her firepower and grit.

Once an All-Star right back in the EHF Champions League Women, Gros can singlehandedly help Slovenia to a good performance at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, due to her experience and talent, as she might also be in the conversation for the top goal scorer title, provided that her team qualifies for the knockout phases of the competition.

Lois Abbingh (Netherlands)

Abbingh was instrumental in the Netherlands’ maiden title at the IHF Women’s World Championship in 2019, being the top scorer of the competition, as well as the penalty taker in the last second of the match, which tilted the balance to the Netherlands in the final against Spain.

The left back, now 33 years old, is at her third edition of the Olympics and will be the first handball player in history to be the flagbearer for the Netherlands, being part of a golden generation, which saw the Dutch side become a powerhouse in women’s handball.

Still a top back in the world, Abbingh can lift the Netherlands in the knockout phase for the third consecutive time at the Olympic Games, as she came back in 2022 after giving birth.

Ryu Eun Hee (Republic of Korea)

Korea have been perennial contenders at the Olympic Games, winning six medals between Seoul 1988 and Beijing 2008. That pipeline has dried up in the past years, but the ambitions are still high and the Asian side have one of the best right backs in the world in their roster.

Like all the Korea players, Ryu Eun Hee has spent most of her career playing domestically, but then spent one year at Paris 92, in the host city of the Olympic Games, before signing in 2021 with Hungarian powerhouse Győri Audi ETO KC.

She has proven her talent at the 2022 AHF Asian Women’s Handball Championship, where she singlehandedly lifted her side to a 34:29 extra-time win in the final against Japan, when she scored 19 goals and was also named the All-Star right back of the competition.

Jamina Roberts (Sweden)

What Sweden lack in medals over the last decade, they make up in consistency, with a fourth place finish at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, a fourth place finish at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship and a fifth place finish at the 2021 IHF Women’s World Championship.

Over that period of time, left back Jamina Roberts has been also superbly consistent, being named the All-Star left back at Tokyo 2020, with some fantastic performances, lifting Sweden to the semi-finals for the first time in history.

Roberts has the largest number of matches, 234, and the second largest number of goals, 604, in the current team, therefore she will likely be crucial once again, in what will probably be her last Olympic Games appearance, as she is aged 34 now.

Emily Bölk (Germany)

Her mother, Andrea, was also a member of the Olympics team for Germany at Barcelona 1992. And Emily quickly followed into her footsteps, as she made her debut for the senior team in 2016, when she was only 18 years old.

A strong defender, but who can also shine in attack, Bölk passed the 100-selections mark at the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship, while also becoming the captain of the Germany team.

With a lot of experience and her leadership qualities, Bölk looks well-equipped to lead this Germany side, which is making its return to the Olympic Games for the first time since Beijing 2008, ending a 16-year wait.