Sakura Hauge

Sakura Hauge, also known as Sakura Kametani (亀谷 さくら, Kametani Sakura, born 7 January 1987), is a Norwegian-born Japanese handball goalkeeper for ESBF Besançon and the Japanese national team.[1]

Sakura Hauge
Hauge in 2018
Personal information
Born (1987-01-07) 7 January 1987
Bergen, Norway
Nationality Norwegian
Japanese
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)
Playing position Goalkeeper
Club information
Current club ESBF Besançon
Senior clubs
Years Team
 IL Gneist
0000–2007
 Nordstrand IF
2007–2014
 Tertnes HE
2014–2018
 Vipers Kristiansand
2018–2019
 Nykøbing Falster Håndbold
2019–
 ESBF Besançon
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2014
 Norway 2 (0)
2015–
 Japan 45 (5)
Medal record
Asian Championship
2018 Japan

Club career

Hauge began her career playing for the Bergen-based club IL Gneist,[2] before joining the club Stabæk IF in Oslo. After Stabæk, she played for Nordstrand IF.[3] Beginning in 2007, Hauge played for the club Tertnes HE in Bergen for seven seasons. In 2014, she joined the club Vipers Kristiansand in Kristiansand, signing a two-year contract.[4] Hauge signed a new two-year contract with Vipers Kristiansand in 2016.[5]

National teams

From 2003 to 2005 Hauge played eight matches for the Norway women's national youth handball team. Before that she had played 14 matches for the junior handball team.[6] Although amongst the players chosen for the Norway women's national handball team in the 2010 European Women's Handball Championship,[4] and being a candidate for the Norwegian team at the 2012 Summer Olympics,[7] she then did not play for Norway on a national level before 2014. In 2014 Hauge played two recruit level matches against Sweden, in one of which she was declared Most Valuable Player.[8] In the early 2010s Hauge suffered from jumper's knee.[4]

Citing disillusionment with her lack of prospects at the Norwegian national team, Hauge joined the Japan women's national handball team in 2015,[8] having contacted the Japanese team the previous year.[9] When playing for Japan, she is known as Sakura Kametani.[10] She played three matches for Japan in the 2015 World Women's Handball Championship in Denmark,[11] where Japan ended on 19th place.[12]

In the 2017 World Women's Handball Championship in Germany, she was the leading goalkeeper throughout the tournament for Japan. She played all 6 matches and also scored her first goal for the national team. In the last match, the eight-finals against Netherlands, she was named player of the match after Japan lost 24–26 after extra time.[13]

Achievements

Individual awards

Personal life

Hauge was born in Bergen, Norway, to a Japanese mother and a Norwegian father. She grew up in her father's home town of Bergen. In primary and secondary school, she received Japanese language lessons (mother tongue instruction). During her childhood, the family would holiday in Hauge's mother's home town of Okayama.[8] From age 15 to 20, she lived in Oslo.[3]

References
  1. EHF profile
  2. Kolstad, Jan Gunnar; Gjerstad, Linn (24 March 2014). "Tertnes mister keeperen". Bergensavisen (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  3. "Spillerprofil Sakura Hauge". Vipers Kristiansand (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  4. Stensland, Rune (24 March 2014). "Sakura Hauge klar for Vipers". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  5. Sundvor, Ron Henning (22 February 2016). "Vipers holder på stjernene". Stavanger Aftenblad (in Norwegian). Retrieved 11 March 2016.
  6. Sandvik, Trond (8 January 2014). "Avskiltet landslagskeeper kritiserer Thorir". Bergens Tidende (in Norwegian). Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. Pileby, Axel (8 January 2014). "Efter tystnaden – sågar förbundskaptenen". Expressen (in Swedish). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  8. Sandvik, Trond (17 June 2015). "Landslagsmålvakt vraker Norge for Japan". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  9. Sørensen, Ole G. (26 November 2015). "Klar for VM – for Japan". Kristiansand Avis (in Norwegian). Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  10. Thrane, Kasper Aleksander (4 December 2015). "Japans målmand taler norsk og lærer Japan at være glade" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  11. "XXII Women's World Championships 2015 Denmark team roster Japan" (PDF). International Handball Federation. 11 December 2015. Retrieved 14 December 2015.
  12. Folvik, Herman (14 December 2015). "Vipers-jenter kjemper om VM-gull: – Pettersen tror Nederland kan utfordre Norge". Aftenposten (in Norwegian). Retrieved 15 December 2015.
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