{"id":109766,"date":"2020-02-25T11:37:41","date_gmt":"2020-02-25T10:37:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=109766"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:43","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:43","slug":"the-road-to-tokyo-will-malou-pheninckx-be-on-the-national-hockey-team-or-not","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/02\/25\/the-road-to-tokyo-will-malou-pheninckx-be-on-the-national-hockey-team-or-not\/","title":{"rendered":"The road to Tokyo: will Malou Pheninckx be on the national hockey team or not?"},"content":{"rendered":"

For many people, the Olympics are a four-yearly event we look forward to watching on TV, but for four students, the upcoming edition of the Games is much more than that. They have marked Tokyo 2020 in their diaries and hope to return to their studies after the summer with an Olympic medal. In the months before, Erasmus Magazine<\/em> follows these students on their respective journeys to the Olympics. In today\u2019s episode: field hockey player Malou Pheninckx.<\/p>\n

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Malou Pheninckx with Zhang Xiaoxue (China) during a Pro League hockey match against China.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKoen Suyk<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

She might go from being a devoted supporter watching matches from the comfort of her sofa to being part of a team cheered on by thousands of orange-clad supporters at the Olympics. Malou\u00a0Pheninckx, 28, knows better than most that a great deal can change in an elite athlete\u2019s life in the course of four years. Back in 2016, she would encourage her teammates while running laps in Rotterdam. \u201cThey would ask me: Why are you actually joining us on this run? Well, to make sure you are properly prepared once you get there! Whenever the going gets tough, I\u2019ll tell you: You\u2019re doing this for Rio.\u201d<\/p>\n

If all goes well, this year it will be Pheninckx\u2019s turn to make her debut at the largest sporting event in the world. \u201cNow I\u2019m running those laps to be better prepared myself. Yes, it\u2019s a different vibe. Although it generally feels normal to me, because hockey is such a huge part of my life. But it\u2019s a good thing that people occasionally point out to me that it\u2019s actually kind of special. I was talking about it with my parents just the other day. I never actually expected it to happen, but here I am, with a pretty decent chance of making the Tokyo team.\u201d<\/p>\n

Completely done<\/h2>

Despite playing nearly one hundred international matches for the Dutch national team, Pheninckx never seemed a genuine candidate for a spot on the Olympic team until quite recently. The elite athlete took a huge detour towards the Olympics. She first joined the national team in 2012, after the London Olympics. She attended several training camps and played 23 international matches in two years, but failed to make the team contesting the world championships by a hair\u2019s breadth. \u201cAfter that I dropped out of the national team. Of course I was disappointed at the time. I was also disappointed to miss out on the Olympics two years later. I would have loved to be there. But I left the team well before the Olympics, so I was able to really enjoy watching the games, because a lot of my friends were playing.\u201d<\/p>\n

She didn\u2019t quit playing hockey. She combined being a medical student with playing at her club, Kampong. \u201cOnce I\u2019d left the national team, I started to put more of an effort into my degree. I was in the foundation programme [internship period \u2013 ed.] and I still really enjoyed playing hockey, so that\u2019s what energised me. Playing good games, being the team captain, having great teammates, and being able to combine all that with my studies.\u201d She was very surprised when she received a phone call from the national team\u2019s head coach in late 2016. The Netherlands had disappointingly come second at the Rio Olympics and the federation wanted fresh blood on the team in the run-up to Tokyo. \u201cI didn\u2019t see it coming at all, but I immediately told myself: either I\u2019m going to give this a serious shot or I\u2019m completely done with it. And then, unexpectedly, things actually worked out quite well.\u201d<\/p>\n

Break<\/h2>
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Malou Pheninckx.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tJack Parker<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

A quick glance at Pheninckx\u2019s prize cabinet shows that things did indeed \u201cwork out quite well\u201d. Five gold medals \u2013 won at two European Championships, one World Championship and two other international tournaments \u2013 are evidence that the Dutch women\u2019s hockey team are the odds-on favourite to win the gold in Tokyo. Sinds Pheninckx\u2019s return to the team, the women have won every tournament in which they have competed. \u201cNo, I never expected any of this. It all happened very gradually. First the European Championship. That went well, and then we went to Worlds. That went well, too. And now we\u2019re getting ready for the Olympics. People often tell me: you did a brilliant job, fighting your way back onto the team. But it never felt that way to me. At the time, I was happy with the way things had gone, and I never expected to be on a team competing at European or World Championships again, much less the Olympics. But things did turn out that way, and I couldn\u2019t be happier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her return to the national team has caused her to take a temporary break from her degree programme. \u201cAt the time I deferred my internships so that I could join the team on a training camp. When I decided to take a serious crack at the European Championships, I made the decision to put my internships on hold altogether.\u201d Due to the success she has had with the national team, Pheninckx has not yet resumed her internships. \u201cIt\u2019s impossible to combine an internship with a hockey schedule like this, and to be completely honest, I wouldn\u2019t even want to. Internships are my favourite part of my degree programme, and I don\u2019t want to make a half-arsed effort at them. I don\u2019t want to be in a position where I have to leave the hospital at 4 o\u2019clock because I have to go and train, or where I have to take days off. I\u2019m looking forward to being able to focus completely on my internships in my final year.\u201d<\/p>\n

Completing the circle<\/h2>

First, though, she has an Olympic dream that must be made to come true. Pheninckx is not yet a lock to make the Olympic team. \u201cBut in the last few years I\u2019ve played in nearly every game. If I stay fit and keep performing as I am at the moment, I think I stand a good chance.\u201d However, she goes on to say that the nerves inherent in the lead-up to such a major event do often make her feel a little less self-confident. \u201cI\u2019m naturally the cautious type. When people tell me, \u2018You\u2019re doing well, you\u2019re definitely going to be on the Olympic team\u2019, I will try to lower everyone\u2019s expectations: \u2018Yeah, but there are a lot of talented players coming up through the ranks.\u2019 Let\u2019s look at the last few years, though. I was there every time, I made a useful contribution every time, and I\u2019m in good form. So why should I say I don\u2019t stand a chance?\u201d<\/p>\n

Obviously, however, there is a chance that she will fall short. \u201cYou can\u2019t allow a thought like that to take hold of you, because if you do, you might as well quit. It is a factor, though. Will I remain fit? Will I remain injury-free? Am I playing well? We\u2019re all very evenly matched.\u201d It is because of this ongoing suspense that she will be even more cautious than usual in the next few months. \u201cI never go skiing anyway, but obviously, I\u2019m definitely not doing any skiing right now. But sometimes tiny little things can make a difference, as well. Sometimes I\u2019ll find myself thinking on a Saturday: let\u2019s go and do some shopping. But then I\u2019ll think: no, that\u2019s not a good idea. I\u2019ll be trudging and plodding without aim all day. At the moment, I\u2019m allowing myself to do so every once in a while, but a little while from now, I\u2019ll stop doing it.\u201d<\/p>\n

In other words, Pheninckx will do whatever it takes to complete the circle. But if you think she\u2019ll be happy just to make the Olympic team, you have another think coming. Because even though the Olympic ideal is not to win, but simply to take part in the Olympics, she has a clear objective this summer. \u201cMaybe a few years from now I\u2019ll be happy just to have made it to the Olympics, but this summer, I\u2019ll only be satisfied if we take the gold.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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More Olympians<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t