The Spin: We talk handball

What comes next when the game you've dedicated your life to takes a new direction — or your playing career comes to an end?

In this special episode of Her Playground, Barbara Arenhart is joined by three remarkable women — Katrine Lunde, Andrea Lekic and Joyce van Haaster — for an honest conversation about life in handball and beyond.

From career highs and setbacks to motherhood, mental and physical well-being, and finding a new identity beyond the court, they share their personal experiences, challenges and lessons learned.

Together, they explore the changes still needed in women's handball: greater visibility, stronger player communities, better support for athletes balancing family and professional sport, and more women sharing their stories.

How can players use their experience to give back to the game, inspire the next generation and drive meaningful change?

Because progress doesn't happen overnight. It happens step by step — and together.

Be part of the change. Follow Her Playground on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/herplayground_official/

What. A. Season. The 2025/26 season is officially over - we know the kings and queens, we have seen surprises and we have seen pure dominance. Our hosts Martin Vilstrup, Andrea Lekic and Bengt Kunkel are here for you to recap the season and look at the five greatest stories, that this season held for us. What was your favourite story? Of course the Truckscout24 EHF FINAL4 and the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 didn't fall short, as we are congratulating Barca and Metz for crowning themselves. Thanks for an awesome season everyone 😍

The european cup competitions are reaching their climax: With the Raiffeisen Bank EHF FINAL4 in Budapest and the Truckscout24 EHF FINAL4 in Cologne two exciting weekends await us. Who arrives in the best shape? And who are the underdog picks for the weekend? We aligned the whole squad to analyze it, Andrea Lekic, Víctor Tomàs, Martin Vilstrup and Bengt Kunkel take a look at the teams and predict their winners, MVPs and top scorers. Who are yours? 🌟

What was the greatest comeback in the history of EHF FINAL4 events? Our hosts Victor Tomas, Martin Vilstrup and Bengt Kunkel have a look at the greatest comebacks and most intense stories that were written in Cologne and Budapest. Some of them involved our spanish legend, so enjoy the episode!

The greatest of all ended her career. Katrine Lunde looks back on an astonishing career: 7x European Championships, 7x Champions League titles and 3x Olympic gold medals are some of her achievements throughout an almost eternal career. Our hosts Víctor Tomàs, Bengt Kunkel and Andrea Lekic want to know, what her biggest achievement was and how she experienced the final match of her career. Farewell, legend and thanks for being part of our podcast!

Fans. What it's all about. As fans are the soul of the sport we dedicate today's episode to fan cultures all over Europe and get insights from our hosts Andrea Lekić, Martin Vilstrup and Bengt Kunkel to have a look at the cultural differences in handball arenas all over Europe. Thank you for being a part of the journey!

The crunchtime of the EHF Champions League is here. As the men are aiming for Cologne and the women set sails for Budapest it's time for a power ranking! Who impressed the most in the group phase and who disappointed? Our hosts Víctor Tomàs, Martin Vilstrup and Bengt Kunkel dive deep into this season and want to have a guess: Who is leading the race? Can Barca be stopped? And where is the biggest upset potential? What do you think, who will lift the trophy in the end? Let us know in the comments! 🍿

The Talant era is here! France announced their new head coach, as Talant Dujshebaev takes over the national team duties from Guillaume Gille. Can the second foreign national team coach ever regain the French dominance? Our hosts Bengt Kunkel, Martin Vilstrup and Víctor Tomàs look at the storied career of Talant Dujshebaev, his successes and his personality - one of the greatest ever to enter the handball stage.

Asun Batista is the best beach handball player in the world as she got elected beach handball player of the year 2025 and received her second excellence award. In a very open and emotional podcast with her fellow countryman Víctor Tomàs and our host Bengt Kunkel she talks about her career choices, setbacks, her biggest achievements and current challenges for herself and the sport in general. Enjoy a very honest episode and look forward to the summer on the beach!

How do the Faroe Islands – a nation smaller than many cities – build a competitive handball team that challenges Europe’s elite? What is the “open-Hall” principle and how does it shape an entire generation of fearless players? And what did the EHF EURO 2026 journey mean for a country where handball is more than just a sport?

Our hosts Andrea Lekić and Bengt Kunkel sat down with right wing Hákun West av Teigum to talk about the Faroese handball miracle. From grassroots philosophy to the biggest stage in European handball, this is the story of belief, community and boldness. How far can a nation of 50,000 really go?