Online Reporter
Tendai Chara-Zimpapers Sports Hub
CHIYEVO Chingoka insists there were lessons worth keeping from a bruising Zimbabwe Women’s Under 21 hockey campaign at the FIH Junior World Cup in Santiago, Chile, last December, even as the final results painted a bleak picture.
Zimbabwe finished 23rd out of 24 teams at the elite tournament, which ran from December 1 to 13. Only fellow African side Namibia ended lower.
On paper, the experience was unforgiving. The girls were stretched from the start, often losing by wide margins that exposed the gap between them and the world’s best.
Their opening match set the tone as Argentina ran riot in a 13-0 defeat. Wales followed with a controlled 3-0 win, before Belgium delivered the heaviest blow, scoring 21 unanswered goals in a one-sided contest.
Zimbabwe struggled to find the net throughout the tournament. Hosts Chile added to the pressure with a 6-1 playoff win, while Malaysia edged the locals 5-3 on penalties after a 3-3 draw, despite being viewed as one of the weaker sides.
The only bright spot on the results sheet was a 2-1 victory over Namibia.
Chingoka, however, chose to focus on what her team gained rather than what they lost.
“First and foremost, the scorelines does not indicate what was actually happening on the field of play.”
“Our opponents sweated for the results.”
She pointed to moments that showed Zimbabwe were not completely out of place on the world stage.
“One of the positive thing is that some of our girls such as Rebecca Windsor, Nyasha Bvute and Amber Tozana managed to get their first ever World Cup goals.”
“This means a lot to us.”
There were also individual rewards. Tinodiwa Elijah was named Player of the Match in the win over Namibia, recognition Chingoka believes reflects the effort the team put in.
She praised the players’ attitude in the face of repeated setbacks.
“The girls always fought to the last whistle. They showed class and talent.”
Still, Chingoka conceded that the tournament exposed serious shortcomings.
“In the future, we need to be more prepared for such tournaments. Our girls clearly lack international exposure.”
“Also, there is need for the girls to play all year round,” she explained.
She linked the team’s struggles to deeper structural problems, particularly funding.
“We need sponsorship for us to be competitive at the international stage.”
“If you remember, we nearly failed to travel to Chile and this had a negative impact on the girls as it brought the morale down.”
South Africa finished 15th and ended the competition as the highest placed African nation, a reminder of how far Zimbabwe still have to climb.
