The Netherlands' new national team captain, Swede Henrik Signell, is leaving out several heavy names in his squad for the handball European Championship.
Both Estavana Polman, 32, and Laura van der Heijden, 34, are left out of the team.
"We must think about the future. Both with regard to next year's World Championship and the Olympic Games in Los Angeles (2028). Then it's important to give room to other players. They must be given the opportunity to develop and gain experience of major tournaments," says Signell to the Dutch federation's website.
Estavana Polman has been one of the major Dutch stars over the past decade and was, among other things, named the tournament's player when the Netherlands won the World Championship gold in 2019. With her 180 international matches, she is still behind Laura van der Heijden, who has represented the national team 289 times.
The European Championship will take place on November 28–December 15 in Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland.
