Nieke Kühne: Germany’s Rising Handball Star Poised for World Championship Debut
Germany’s Nieke Kühne is rapidly ascending the ranks of professional handball, and the 21-year-old is set to make her senior world championship debut at the 2025 IHF Women’s World Championship in Stuttgart. Kühne’s journey, marked by a “meteoric rise” as described by German media, began with her first appearance at the IHF Women’s World Championship in July 2022, when she was just 17 years old.
The young left back’s progression through the youth and junior levels has been nothing short of remarkable. Two years after her initial world championship experience, she competed at the junior world championship, further honing her skills and gaining invaluable international exposure. Now, she stands on the cusp of representing her nation on the biggest stage, ready to contribute to the German team’s success.
“These words are really nice, but sometimes I cannot believe that it’s myself they are talking about,” Kühne admitted, reflecting on the praise she’s received. Despite the accolades, she remains grounded and focused on continuous improvement. “It was a fast way to get where I am, but my way is not over. There are many steps left to get to the top level, but it was really fast from the youth national team to get here now and to play at a (senior) world championship. It’s unbelievable.”
Kühne’s previous appearances at the younger age category world championships saw Germany consistently competing for 9th/10th place against Norway. In 2022, playing in her first world championship, she helped her team to a 10th-place finish, scoring 41 goals across seven games. The team faced a challenging path, defeating Slovakia and Switzerland in the preliminary round before falling to the eventual champions, the Republic of Korea. A subsequent loss to the Netherlands was followed by a narrow win over Romania – where Kühne notably scored 10 times – and a victory over the hosts, setting up a playoff match against Norway, which Germany ultimately lost 24-32.
“That was a long time ago and the 10th place was not what we expected,” Kühne recalled, acknowledging the team’s ambition. However, she also emphasized the broader experience gained. “It was nice to experience the other countries at a world championship – we were all in the same hotel, and we got to know the other cultures, which, next to the handball, is a nice fact of what you can experience at a world championship.”
Two years later, at the junior global event in Skopje, Kühne and Germany faced a familiar opponent in the 9/10 placement match: Norway. This time, however, the outcome was different. The German team secured a decisive 28-18 victory, finishing within the world’s top 10. Despite a preliminary round loss to eventual champions France (29-27), Germany secured wins against Serbia (39-18) and Spain (29-27). A narrow defeat to Sweden (26-25) was followed by a win against China (38-25), leading to a 9-12 placement match against Romania, which they won 34-32, ultimately setting up another clash with Norway.
“I can remember this world championship more than 2022,” Kühne stated, highlighting the significance of the event as her final younger age tournament. “First of all, it was special because it was my last younger age tournament and we wanted to have a nice ending – we had a good team and I made many, many new friends there.” Kühne again scored in all seven games, finishing with 27 goals. While acknowledging a tough loss to Sweden, where she missed a crucial last-second shot, she emphasized the importance of resilience. “Overall, we couldn’t make good placements (in the two world championships), so it was a bit sad to not have the achievements we wanted to have. In the end though, it was nice to have all these experiences and they were always a pleasure to play in. I found really nice friends there, and ones which last to this day. Plus, after that defeat against Sweden, we just had to get along with it so it was good to have this experience: when you’re on the ground and have to get up you see who is there for you in that moment and that’s one of the points, I took out of it.”
Her consistent performance and dedication did not go unnoticed. Following the 2024 IHF Women’s Junior (U20) World Championship, senior women’s national team coach Markus Gaugisch handed Kühne her senior debut against Norway in October 2024. Earlier this month, she received another call-up, securing her place in the German squad for the Germany/Netherlands 2025 World Championship.
The call from Gaugisch was a particularly special moment. As reported by the German Olympic Sports Federation (DOSB), Kühne, who was with her mother at the time, playfully told the coach to “get to the point” after some initial small talk. “It was a really special moment for me,” she shared. “I was at home, but it was not planned as we had a game abroad. After about an hour of being at home, he (Gaugisch) called me. I was so excited about what he wanted to say and, for sure, I knew that it was about the nomination of the 16 players who will go to the world championship. So, we talked about our last home game, but I was just thinking to myself; ‘Okay, nice to talk about this, but now I am just excited, just say to me if I’m in or not’, so this was the moment. After this we went for dinner with my family. It was really special and perfect.”
Kühne’s potential has also been recognized by experienced teammates. Germany captain Antje Döll expressed confidence in Kühne’s nomination, praising her skills and self-assurance. “It was really nice and I was really happy to hear these words from our captain, and especially from a person who is really experienced and knows what it is all about in handball. You cannot get a value (put a price) on these words when she says them, I really like what she said,” Kühne acknowledged. “The thing about my nomination was that it was clear for her, but I was really sweating to the last minute if I would make it.”
Now training alongside her role model, Xenia Smits, who has nearly 150 appearances for Germany, Kühne is eager to learn and grow. “In the first training sessions it was just unbelievable to train with her, but now I’m a bit more used to it and happy to get to know her and learn from her,” she said. Kühne is also embracing her own emerging role as an inspiration to younger players. “It’s special now that I am starting to have people or children looking up to me as a role model maybe. Sometimes I cannot believe that I’m at this point now where other people are looking up to me.”
Kühne’s passion for handball extends beyond the competitive arena. “There’s so much handball can give you,” she explained. “When I am playing myself or watching games on TV, I like the way how people are connecting, the team spirit and how they cheer each other up. Handball is a really fast game and I like to play with all these facilities of strength, speed and team spirit. Many things are happening at the same time for the players and spectators, so it’s just exciting to watch. This is the reason I like handball and am not playing a quiet sports like darts, for example.”
Hailing from the Lower Saxony town of Wolfenbüttel, and now residing in Seesen, Kühne values the quiet lifestyle and strong community that her hometown provides. “I don’t think that anybody knows Seesen. It’s a really small town where you don’t have so much city life. It’s small. You can go swimming there, but not so much more – the nearest big town you would know is Hannover, which is one hour away,” she explained. “But I like Seesen because it’s a bit quiet there and I like this lifestyle. We have a house next to some fields and I play in the garden with my siblings, or just enjoy the sun. It’s nice and one of my values I really appreciate.”
With the waiting now over, Kühne is fully focused on the upcoming World Championship, where Germany will face Iceland at the Porsche Arena in Stuttgart in their preliminary group C opener on Wednesday, November 26th. “We are totally ready now. It was a long period of training and we want to start now – we are looking forward to Stuttgart and want to play really good games in front of all the fans with really high emotions,” she affirmed. “I just want to play. I love this game. For sure, it’s not easy to play in these games, but we have a really nice team who are always there for me and I get a lot of support from them. The one word I would use to describe our team is flexible, and team-spirit. We have a really strong trust in each other, and one of our strengths is that we are so flexible. We have many players with different abilities, and that is maybe the point for our opponents; they cannot say ‘hey, they are just playing on this side, or on this side, or they just have a good defence’. We have everything, but we have to prove this in the games.”
Kühne is eager to contribute to the team’s success, aiming to play with the same intensity and skill she has demonstrated in the Bundesliga and European League. “I am just happy to be part of this world championship team, and hope I can help them. I don’t have so much experience but I just want to play how I have been playing in the Bundesliga or in the European League, doing the things which got me into this national team squad. I don’t want to think so much. I want to continue to play and to score, but it’s not about me, it’s about the team. We can make a really nice tournament with all the spectators in Germany first, and hopefully get our dream of playing for gold in Rotterdam.”
