Gems expected to regroup

Ellina Mhlanga-Senior Sports Reporter 

ZIMBABWE’S senior netball team are expected to regroup soon for the upcoming Pent Series and Africa Championships, scheduled for Namibia, between October and November. 

It’s almost two years, since the Gems were involved, in a competitive match. 

The Pent Series were initially scheduled for June but had to be moved to next month because of the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Pent Series are now due to take place from October 31 to November 4 with the African Championships set from November 9 to 16. 

Zimbabwe Netball Association president, Letitia Chipandu, confirmed they will be sending the team, to take part in the two events. 

“Pent Series is from 31 October to 4 November. We will break for four days, we are not coming back, we will stay there for the four days, rest and train,’’ she said.

“Then, from 9 November to 16 November, we will have the African Championships.’’ 

The national association are also expected to field the 18-and-Under team, at the African Union Sports Council Region Five Youth Games in Maseru, Lesotho, in December. 

“For AUSC, the team has already been selected and the bulk of the players have got passports. 

“We have got 20 players listed, and 13 have got passports, we already have a team.

“So, we are going to camp as soon as possible. We are just doing our logistics. As soon as we are allowed to camp, they come into camp because they need to train.

“We need to see how good they are and we need to see where we need to put a lot of work to make sure that the teams perform well. 

“The management committee (for the 18-and-Under) is still has to be presented to SRC because there is a criteria. 

“We are supposed to submit four names for each post and then we defend our nominations. 

“The technical director will do that,’’ said Chipandu. 

There hasn’t been much activity locally and Chipandu concedes the players will need more time together, to prepare, for their next assignments. 

Although the coaches tried to keep the players fit, through online programmes, it will take some work to have everyone on the right level. 

Other countries like South Africa, who are expected to compete at the African Championships, resumed their activities early. 

“They were getting training programmes everyday, so I am very positive that our players are fit. 

“But, I was very sad actually that perhaps the quality of play might have gone down because we have not played for almost two years now. 

“We really need to get into camp, for quite a period, just to make sure that the girls are back on track. 

“I have got confidence with our players that they will rise to the occasion,” said Chipandu. 

One of the major targets for next year is qualifying for the 2023 World Cup in South Africa. 

Zimbabwe will also be pushing to improve their ranking, on the continent, where they are ranked fourth.