Match against Olympia Hengelo

The first match was held on the 9th of September 1956 with Olympia Hengelo. Olympia was a very strong team that won the national championship in field handball in 1946, 1952 and 1968. Indoor handball was making its debut in the Netherlands at that time, and Olympia made history by winning the Dutch indoor handball championship in 1956, 1957, and 1958.

A lot of information is missing about that match. The match was probably held at the outdoor Sportpark Veldwijk, where Olympia's modern home grounds still stand today. When we met, Yaakov Sendler couldn't remember the exact score, but he recalled it being a low-scoring game—something like 6-5 for Olympia.

Behind the Olympia Hengelo players standing in line, is a traditional Dutch regional brass and woodwind orchestra (Muziekvereniging) brought in to welcome the international match. Behind the referee is an ornate ceremonial society banner (vaandel), heavily embroidered on dark velvet. These banners were a source of pride for Dutch cultural guilds and societies, typically paraded at major civic events. The banner reads Royal Music Association Excelsior, founded on the 15th of November 1885. The banner is mounted on a heavy wooden crossbar pole topped with an elegant, polished brass lyre (the universal symbol of music) and decorative tassels.

If you have any information about the team members and about the referees, let me know.

The first lineup included: standing (left to right) Amihud Shani, Tuvia Cherni, Yaakov Sendler, Moti Mokasai, and Hagai Lachover, with Tzurik Ben-Ari and Mottale Rozenshtein standing in front of them. Sitting (left to right) are Shaya Yarimi, Boaz Latvinovski, Uri Cohen, and Hanan Sheibe, with Gigi Cohen sitting in the very front.

Hagai, Tuvia, Yarimi, and both Uri and Yaakov (who were left-handed) played as forwards. Gigi was the goalkeeper. Hagai, then 18 years old, was the star of the team, while Yaakov was the youngest at 17. Amihud and Mottale had great stamina, and my father, Uri, was very fast. Hanan was the captain, while Uri and Moti served as player-coaches

In Hengelo, a friendly match was played between Olympia H. and Maccabi-Rehovot. This team was a combination of two clubs from the town of Rehovot, of which one of these two clubs can call itself champion of Israel. At halftime, the score was 4–2 for Olympia H. It finally became 10–7. Tuesday the Israeli team plays in Groningen, Sunday in Eindhoven, and probably another encounter in Amsterdam will follow.

So indeed, Yaakov's memory did not fail him; the game was tight with a final low score. This clipping confirms the exact 10–7 score.