They announced their retirement from the national team at the end of the Women's Handball World Championship! The federation paid them an emotional tribute
Article by Tudor Belivacă – Published Friday, November 14, 2025, 8:55 p.m. / Updated Friday, November 14, 2025, 9:03 p.m.
Estavana Polman (33 years old), Rapid's coordinator, and Lois Abbingh (33 years old), former player at HCM Baia Mare, announced their retirement from the Dutch national team after the World Handball Championship, organized by their country and Germany.
The Women's Handball World Championship is scheduled between November 26 and December 14. Romania will start its adventure on November 27, from 19:00, against Croatia. The group also includes Denmark and Japan.
Polman and Abbingh will continue to play for club teams, but will no longer respond to national invitations. The federation prepared a special video for them to honor their retirement.
Estavana Polman and Lois Abbingh retire from the Dutch national team after WC 2025
“After more than 15 years with the Dutch national team, it's time for a new chapter. We see this tournament, a World Championship in our country, as a great opportunity to end our career as a player with the Dutch national team.
It's not over yet. We are now focused on one big dream: to win another medal at the World Championship, but I can already look back with pride and gratitude.
When I look at where I was when I started and where we are now, all the moments with this team have shaped me as an athlete, but even more as a person,” Estavana Polman said.
“I have experienced so much with the fans of the Netherlands team. From the beginning, when we played in small halls with limited resources, to winning the World Championship in Japan. I cherish those moments and the friendships made very much.
We grew up together in the orange jersey. I already look back with the feeling that I left something behind, that I opened the door for the next generation, and that makes retirement very beautiful, not sad,” Lois Abbigh also shared.
Estavana Polman made her debut for the Dutch national team in 2010, in a match against Brazil. The Dutch woman arrived in the 2022-2023 season at Rapid and is still playing in the “Flower League”.
Lois Abbingh made her debut for the Dutch national team in 2009, in a match against Croatia. The Dutchwoman now plays for Borussia Dortmund in Germany, but also played for Vipers, Odense, Rostov-Don, Issy Paris, Oldenburg and for two seasons at HCM Baia Mare, between 2014-2016.
Both have a 2019 world title with Holland and several international medals under their belt.
What the preliminary groups look like and where the matches are played at WC 2025:
The 27th edition of the Women's Handball World Championship is scheduled between November 26 and December 14, 2025. The Netherlands and Germany are hosting the competition, from which Romania is not absent. The “Tricolore” are the only ones who didn't miss any attendance!
- Group A (Rotterdam): Denmark, ROMANIAJapan, Croatia
- Group B ('s-Hertogenbosch): Hungary, Switzerland, Senegal, Iran
- Group C (Stuttgart): Germany, Serbia, Iceland, Uruguay
- Group D (Trier): Montenegro, Spain, Faroe Islands, Paraguay
- Group E (Rotterdam): Holland, Austria, Argentina, Egypt
- Group F ('s-Hertogenbosch): France, Poland, Tunisia, China
- Group G (Stuttgart): Sweden, Brazil, Czech Republic, Cuba
- Group H (Trier): Norway, Angola, South Korea, Kazakhstan
