Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 19, 2026

Inger Smits

Inger Smits is a Dutch handball player for Romanian club CSM București and the Dutch national team.

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Jul 19, 2026
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Inger Smits
Inger Smits (right) in a 2021 Handball-Bundesliga game
Personal information
Born (1994-09-17) 17 September 1994
Geleen, Netherlands
Nationality Dutch
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Centre back
Club information
Current club CSM București
Number 10
Senior clubs
Years Team
-2011
 V&L
2011–2013
 HandbaL Venlo
2013–2015
 SV Dalfsen Handbal
2015–2017
 VfL Oldenburg
2017–2019
 TTH Holstebro
2019–2021
 Borussia Dortmund
2021–2024
 SG BBM Bietigheim
2024–
 CSM București
National team 1
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2013–
 Netherlands 107 (178)
Medal record
World Championship
Gold medal – first place 2019 Japan
European Championship
Bronze medal – third place 2018 France
1 National team caps and goals correct
as of 1 November 2024

Inger Smits (born 17 September 1994) is a Dutch handball player for Romanian club CSM București and the Dutch national team.1234

She was a part the Netherlands team that won the 2019 World Women's Handball Championship; the first title in the country's history.56

Career

Smits started playing handball at her hometown club V&L. In 2011 she joined HandbaL Venlo, where she played for two years before moving to SV Dalfsen.7 Here she won the Dutch championship in 2014 and 2015 and the Dutch cup and Supercup in 2015.8

In 2015 she joined VfL Oldenburg.9 Two years later she joined Danish side Team Tvis Holstebro.10 Two years later she returned to Germany when she joined Borussia Dortmund.11 Here she won the German championship in 2021.

In the summer of 2021 she joined league rivals SG BBM Bietigheim.12 Here she won the 2021, 2022 and 2023 DHB-Supercup, the 2022, 2023 and 2024 German championship, the 2022 European League and the 2023 DHB-Pokal.

In 2024 she joined Romanian CSM București.13

National team

Smits played 37 games for the Dutch youth team.9

At the 2018 European Championship she won bronze medals, although she only played in the last match, the third place playoff.14

At the 2019 World Championship in Japan she won gold medals with the dutch team, beating Spain in the final 30:2915 She was however injured during the first round and was replaced by Delaila Amega.1617

At the 2020 Olympics she also represented the Dutch team.18

At the 2023 World Championship she and the Netherlands finished 5th. She scored 8 goals during the tournament.19

Private life

Her father Gino Smits and mother Cecile Leenen were also handball players. 7 Her brothers Kay and Jorn are also international handball players.20

Achievements

References

References

  1. EHF profile
  2. "Inger Smits Profile". dhdb.hyldgaard-jensen.dk.
  3. EHF profile
  4. "2018 European Championship roster" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 12 January 2019.
  5. "Mayonnade maakt definitieve WK-selectie bekend". handbal.nl (in Dutch). 4 November 2019. Archived from the original on 5 November 2019. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  6. 2019 World Women's Handball Championship roster
  7. "Smits versterkt Landskampioen SERCODAK Dalfsen". dalfsennet.nl (in Dutch). SV Dalfsen. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  8. ""Keine finanzielle Basis": Fünffacher niederländischer Meister gibt auf" (in German). handball-world.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  9. "Weitere Niederländerin für Oldenburg" (in German). handball-world.com. Retrieved 21 November 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  10. "Oldenburgerin Smits wechselt nach Dänemark" (in German). handball-world.com. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  11. "Dortmund verstärkt sich im Rückraum" [Dortmund strengthens at the back position] (in German). handball-world.news. Archived from the original on 29 November 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  12. "Weltmeisterin Inger Smits wechselt nach Bietigheim" [World Champion Inger Smits transfer to Bietigheim] (in German). handball-world.news. Archived from the original on 1 February 2021. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  13. "Weltmeisterin Inger Smits verlässt Bundesliga" [World Champion leaves the Bundesliga] (in German). handball-world.news. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
  14. "Spannende Schlussphase im Bronzematch, Niederlande wahrt frühen Vorsprung" (in German). handball-world.com. Archived from the original on 20 September 2020. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  15. "Holland er verdensmester for første gang" [Netherlands are world champions for the first time ever] (in Danish). TV2 Danmark. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
  16. "Abbingh nervenstark - Niederlande mit letztem Wurf gegen Spanien Handball-Weltmeister der Frauen" (in German). handball-world.news. Archived from the original on 15 December 2019. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  17. "Amega maakt entree op WK" (in Dutch). handbalinside.nl. Retrieved 21 November 2020.
  18. "Match Team Statistics: Netherlands vs. Japan" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 25 July 2021.
  19. "26th IHF Women's World Championship: Netherlands" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  20. De genen van handbalfamilie Smits: 'Later beseffen we hoe bijzonder dit is' Archived 2021-01-28 at the Wayback Machine, NOS, 19 January 2021
External links