The rising handball stars of the Women's 19 EHF EURO: Freja Cohrt Kyndbøl

Danish left winger Freja Cohrt Kyndbøl welcomes the pressure of playing on home court at the W19 EHF EURO.

When asked to characterise Freja Cohrt, her coach on the Danish U19 team Heine Eriksen answers with an example.

“Last year, when we played the (U18) World Championship final against Russia, the score was equal with six seconds left.

“It was Freja who scored our winning goal after a fast break, with one second left. I think that says just about everything about her competitive mentality and her value to the team,” Heine Eriksen told eurohandball.com.

That goal was her 32nd in that tournament, where she was Denmark´s top scorer - but is she always that cool under pressure?

“At least, I was in that situation, partly because I had a lot of self-confidence at that time, as we had had a fine championship until then.

Early move

“However, I also think that the example illustrates very well that I am the kind of person who likes to lead on and to take responsibility,” says Freja Cohrt who was born in Denmark´s third largest city Odense, but who moved away from home at the early age of 16.

She is in no doubt that this step has matured and developed her at lot, personally and as a handball player.

“I am the kind of girl who can easily talk to other people, but I also need the safety I get from my family and my friends.

“However, the handball world is a rather small world, in which we all know each other more or less – and I would probably not have come as far as I have with my handball, if I had not taken that step,” says Freja who has also benefitted from having had some match practice with her club Randers HK, where she got time on the court in the Danish league as well as in the Women’s EHF Champions League last season.

“It’s obvious that it has given me a lot of experience to move up to senior level a year early and to play in the league and in the Champions league.

“Although I spent quite a lot of time on the bench last season, I have also benefitted a lot physically, not least from playing in the Champions League, where the physical pressure is far heavier than, for instance, at the youth championships I have played so far,” says Freja Cohrt, who acted as understudy to French international Siraba Dembele in the Randers team last season.

In the meantime, however, Dembele has left for the new Macedonian powerhouse Vardar PRO in Skopje and Freja can probably look forward to a lot more match practice at league level in the coming season.

“With Siraba gone, it will be Rikke Ebbesen, born in 1992 (joining from Aalborg DH) and I who will be competing for the time on the court, so I definitely hope to play some more this season,” she explains.

Senior team is the natural next step

For a player who has achieved so much at such young age, it is natural that the senior national team is an ambition and a natural next step.

“Of course, that is my ambition, but I am not a person who is that good at looking far ahead. I will have to wait for my chance, but I obviously see the U19 championship here in Denmark as an opportunity to show my skills – also to my coach in Randers, Jan Leslie, who I hope to convince that I should play some more in future.

“However, playing at home will also mean some kind of pressure, as we will be judged and measured by a lot of people who know us.

“That will be very different to playing abroad, where we live inside our own bubble, so to speak.

“But then again, it is also a positive pressure, as it is that kind of pressure you mature from,” concluded Kyndbøl.