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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter
AFTER making the senior women’s field hockey side that participated at the Africa Cup of Nations (ACN) in January, Tinodiwanashe Elijah is hoping to build on the experience at the FIH Hockey Women’s Junior World Cup.
The tournament gets underway on Friday in Potchefstroom, South Africa, and runs until April 12.
Elijah is part of the Under-21 side that left for South Africa on Sunday to compete at the global event.
“Right now I am just so overwhelmed with joy and so excited that we are finally getting to be able to play and to experience the atmosphere of a World Cup event,” said Elijah.
The 16-year-old said the ACN was a learning curve and she picked some lessons ahead of the Junior World Cup. She hopes the experience and exposure will come in handy.
“Definitely because now my eyes are opened.
“It’s not like in Zimbabwe when we are playing the same ladies, it’s a whole different ball game…I learnt you need to change your game because they will study you and they will learn how you play.
“So I learnt how to change my game and to be unpredictable, so it was such a good experience. It was such a learning curve,” said Elijah.
The Junior World Cup is another platform to gain experience and exposure, and she is going into the tournament with an open mind.
“I don’t think I am going with any expectations but I am just going there to have a blast to play as best as I can and just to play the game to the best of my abilities,” said Elijah.
Zimbabwe will play Canada, Netherlands and the United States in Pool A.
Online Reporter