Forging a new path for New Caledonian women: Debutant Wajoka makes history at Germany/Netherlands 2025

From the France roster which won the 2023 IHF Women’s World Championship two years ago, only 11 players remained in the squad for the current edition of the world handball flagship competition.

Crucial players like goalkeeper Laura Glauser and back Estelle Nze Minko are not here to help France retain their world title, but the position which suffered the biggest overhaul is the left wing, where France have two debutants in major international competitions.

The captain of the title winners at the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior World Championship, Nina Dury, is one of the new players deputising on the left wing, while the other is Suzanne Wajoka, who just made her debut in the national team in 2025.

Her first matches were in March 2025, in a friendly doubleheader against Germany, but since then Wajoka has made some huge steps in her career. In summer, she moved to French champions Metz Handball and now is Sebastian Gardillou’s first option on the left wing.

And at her first major international competition – the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship – Wajoka has been flawless in the first two matches, converting all the 17 shots she had, boasting a 100% shooting efficiency and helped France to two clear wins, 47:21 against the People’s Republic of China and 43:18 against Tunisia.

 

“It is a great source of pride to take part in a World Championship. It’s a dream come true. I am happy to be here and very excited to play the matches. It is a great honour to defend the title of the French national team, won two years ago,” says Wajoka, after the first two matches in ‘s-Hertogenbosch.

Indeed, Wajoka has been France’s top scorer in the competition and was named the hummel Player of the Match in her maiden appearance at the World Championship, slotting into her position without any turbulence.

But tougher matches await France, starting with their last match in the preliminary round, when they face Poland. Then, they move to Rotterdam, where they are due to face co-hosts Netherlands, Austria, and one of Argentina or Egypt.

“I don’t feel any pressure. I take it game by game and let time do its work. I don’t feel any pressure,” adds Wajoka, who admits she was “stressed” when she made her debut against Germany, feeling the pressure of delivering in her maiden match for the national team.

“I felt a lot of stress, but the pride was still there. Playing international matches put me under a lot of pressure. I was very stressed at first, but now I can manage it, so it’s ok,” says the left wing.

And for the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship?

“There is no stress, only excitement,” says Wajoka.

Excitement also stems from the fact she has had a fantastic 2025 in her career. Her first club in France was CJF Fleury Loiret Handball, where she made her debut as a professional in 2021, before moving to ES Besançon in 2023.

This summer, she moved to Metz Handball, where she shares the court with several of her France teammates, such as Sarah Bouktit, Lucie Granier or Lena Grandveau, in a perennial contender for the EHF Champions League Women crown and the team which won the last four titles in the French league.

“It is a dream came true. It’s a pleasure to play with them. I used to watch them on TV, and now that I’m on court beside them, I’m very happy. It’s a great experience, and we learn a lot from them,” adds Wajoka.

But another source of pride for the 24-year-old left wing is her heritage. Wajoka was born in Nouméa, the capital of New Caledonia, a French territory in the South Pacific, located more than 16,000 kilometres from mainland France, and forms part of what is known as l’outre‑mer – France’s territory overseas.

Wajoka is the first player born in New Caledonia who made it to the France national team and is wearing her heart on her sleeve whenever she takes on the court.

“It’s important because I’m showing where I come from. I’m also showing people that New Caledonia is on the map. I think it can open doors for young people from New Caledonia who want to play handball or other sports. It opens doors for the youth in our country,” adds Wajoka.

The New Caledonia youth and junior women’s handball teams secured the title at the IHF Trophy Oceania back in October, with the junior team taking a 30:25 win in the final against Australia, while the youth side remained the only unbeaten team at the end, with four wins in four matches, against Tahiti (25:12), Fiji (35:20), Australia (29:13) and New Zealand (27:25).

Back in autumn, at the Women’s Volleyball World Championship, Sabine Haewegene became the first player born in New Caledonia to feature for France. Now, in handball, Wajoka repeated this feature and is eager to open new avenues for young women who aim higher.

“Her participation in the World Championship, and now mine, opens even more doors,” concludes Wajoka, who also has the eyes on the big prize – another world title for France.

“I think we have started well to get good results. We work every day to go as far as possible. We have a good team. In any case, we remain humble. We take it match by match and we will see what we can do in the end. For now, we have started well and we are working well,” concludes the left wing.