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Kai Häfner

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German handball player (born 1989)

Kai Hafner
Häfner in 2024
Personal information
Born (1989-07-10) 10 July 1989 (age 35)
Schwäbisch Gmünd, West Germany
Nationality German
Height 1.92 m (6 ft 4 in)
Playing position Right back
Club information
Current club TVB Stuttgart
Number 34
Youth career
Team
TSB Schwäbisch Gmünd
Senior clubs
Years Team
0000–2006 TSB Schwäbisch Gmünd
2006–2007 TV Bittenfeld
2007–2011 Frisch Auf Göppingen
2011–2014 HBW Balingen-Weilstetten
2014–2019 TSV Hannover-Burgdorf
2019–2023 MT Melsungen
2023– TVB Stuttgart
National team
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2010– Germany 139 (335)
Medal record
Olympic Games
Silver medal – second place 2024 Paris Team
Bronze medal – third place 2016 Rio de Janeiro Team
European Championship
Gold medal – first place 2016 Poland
National team caps and goals correct
as of 18 January 2024

Kai Häfner (born 10 July 1989) is a German handball player for TVB Stuttgart and the German national team.

He participated at the 2019 World Men's Handball Championship.

Club career

Häfner began his handball career at hometown club TSB Schwäbisch Gmünd, before moving to 2. Bundesliga side TV Bittenfeld in 2006. Having switched to Frisch Auf Göppingen the following year, Häfner would spend four seasons playing for the Swabians, with whom he won the DHB-Pokal in 2011.

The German switched to fellow Bundesliga club HBW Balingen-Weilstetten in 2011. After three years, Häfner was once again on the move, switching to TSV Hannover-Burgdorf ahead of the 2014 season.

He went to MT Melsungen in 2019, where he spent four seasons. Having been captain until 2023, Häfner left shortly after his role was allocated to Timo Kastening.

In 2023, Häfner returned to the now renamed TVB Stuttgart.

International career

Häfner won the silver medal with the German junior national team at the 2008 European Championships. A year later, he won gold at the Junior World Championships. On 15 April 2010, he made his debut for the men's national team in a match against Denmark.

At the 2016 European Championships in Poland, he was called up for the last game of the main round (against Russia) after Steffen Weinhold was injured. The team won the title against Spain, to which Häfner contributed with a total of 15 goals in three games. These included the winning goal in the final seconds of the game in the 34:33 victory over Norway in the semi-final.

At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, he won the bronze medal with the German team. He was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf by the Federal President on 1 November 2016. He was called up to the 20-man squad for the 2018 European Championships by national coach Christian Prokop and took part in the preparations. He was called up to the final squad on 7 January and took part in the 2018 European Championships. Häfner also took part in the Olympic Games in Tokyo.

Having scored eleven goals in the first two games, Häfner was ruled out of the tournament after a positive COVID-19 test. At the 2023 World Cup, he and the team finished fifth, with Häfner scoring 28 goals.

Achievements

References

  1. "Kai Häfner". DHB.de (in German).
  2. "Kai Häfner". eurohandball.com. European Handball Federation. Retrieved 22 September 2014.
  3. "2019 World Men's Handball Championship roster" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation.
  4. "Nächster „Gallier von der Alb" nach Hannover" [Next "Gaul from the Alb" to Hanover]. handball-world.com (in German). 12 November 2013. Retrieved 12 November 2013.
  5. "MT Melsungen einigt sich mit TSV Hannover-Burgdorf auf vorzeitigen Häfner-Wechsel" [MT Melsungen agrees with TSV Hannover-Burgdorf on early Häfner transfer]. handball-world.news (in German). 6 May 2019. Retrieved 6 May 2019.
  6. "Timo Kastening führt MT Melsungen als Kapitän aufs Feld" [Timo Kastening leads MT Melsungen onto the field as captain]. hessenschau.de (in German). 31 July 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  7. "Aus der Startaufstellung verdrängt: Kai Häfner verlässt die MT Melsungen" [Pushed out of the starting line-up: Kai Häfner leaves MT Melsungen]. hessenschau.de (in German). 4 August 2023. Retrieved 2 February 2024.
  8. "Kai Häfner mit Abschied von MT Melsungen und Rückkehr zum Ex-Klub" [Kai Häfner says goodbye to MT Melsungen and returns to his former club]. handball-world (in German). Retrieved 4 August 2023.
  9. "Verleihung des Silbernen Lorbeerblattes" [Award of the Silver Laurel Leaf]. bundespraesident.de (in German). 1 November 2016.
  10. "Prokop benennt Kader für Vorbereitung auf EHF EURO 2018" [Prokop benennt Kader für Vorbereitung auf EHF EURO 2018]. dhb.de (in German). 15 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  11. "Match Team Statistics: Germany vs. Spain" (PDF). ihf.info. International Handball Federation. Retrieved 24 July 2021.
  12. "Cumulative Statistics Germany". res.ehf.eu. Retrieved 29 January 2022.

External links

Germany squad – Men's handball – 2016 European Championship – Gold medal
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2016 Summer Olympics – Bronze medal
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2017 World Championship – 9th place
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2018 European Championship – 9th place
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2019 World Championship – 4th place
Germany
Germany squad – 2020 European Championship – 5th place
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2021 World Championship – 12th place
Germany
Germany squad – Men's handball – 2020 Summer Olympics – 6th place
Germany
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