Bouktit soon moves to what sounds like one of her favourite words; “work”. For her to play at this level after only a handful of years as a professional must have taken an awful lot of work. A quick look at this season’s EHF Champions League stats will tell you that she has not rested on her laurels lately. “Yeah, I know” she laughs when you tell her that she is currently first in the top scorers ranking. “I’m very proud of it, but it means even more to me as I’m sharing the top position with one of my teammates, Kristina Jorgensen. It really shows that Metz Handball is all about the team.”
The season so far has been a very successful one for the French side, as it is currently top of its group with three games left to play. With the departures of Louise Burgaard, Kristina Jorgensen and Hatadou Sako already confirmed for the end of the season, does this feel like the end of an era in Metz? “Not really. People had the same perception two years ago when Orlane Kanor and Méline Nocandy left, but if you look at the results, nothing changed much” says the 21-year-old, sounding as confident as someone twice her age, “For sure, someone else will have to step up, and perhaps even I will have to wear bigger clothes. But that’s fine, that’s just how things work. And it is too early to talk about that anyway.”
Because before saying goodbye to some of her teammates, Sarah Bouktit and Metz Handball have much more urgent matters on the table, beginning with the Match of the Week on Sunday against Team Esbjerg. Both teams currently share top spot in group B, and the winner will make a decisive step towards the quarter-finals.
