Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira and Nkosilathi Sibanda
THE Gems will start their 2023 World Cup campaign this morning with a tough encounter against tournament favourites Australia in Cape Town, South Africa.
Yesterday the Gems who have received support from the Government, Spar and Nedbank, were boosted by Doves Phumulani-Zororo who gave them an assortment of equipment.
Their opponents, the Australian ‘Diamonds’ lost the last World Cup final to New Zealand and would like to use this tournament to make amends.
Former Zimbabwe Netball Association provincial secretary Lovinia Bhebhe says the team has all it takes to finish inside the top two from their group despite the tough start.
“I think our first game is tough. We need to be way above our best to win. However, we have the quality on our side to match them. In the event they overpower us we should make sure they don’t score many against us. We definitely have a chance against Fiji and Tonga which should put us in a position to progress to the next stage of the competition,” said Bhebhe.
The National Association of Secondary Heads (NASH) has urged the nation to support the national netball senior team in their quest for glory at the Netball World Cup.
NASH president Arthur Maphosa said schools take pride in all the players that make up the national team because they are all products of grassroot tournaments organised by schools.
He made particular reference to the Stella netball tournament, which he described as the biggest schools competition in the country contested by all schools that play netball.
Before the Gems made it to the world stage, netball was not the kind of sport on everyone’s plate. The country was frenzied by netball when the Gems first participated at the World Cup in England in 2019.
The sport has however been on the schools calendar hence schools should take the credit for grooming netball players.
“As the National Association of Secondary Heads, we call upon all sport loving Zimbabweans to follow and support the Gems in all their World Cup games. Netball in schools has been growing and the
recent Gems’ good performance will definitely inspire young players. Now netball will be on the limelight and it is our hope that this sport will get the deserved support” said Maphosa.
In support of his view, Maphosa singled out Bulawayo’s Sikhulile High School, which produced the Gems’ captain Felistus Kwangwa and 19-year-old Nicole Muzanhenamo.
Aside from the action in Cape Town, Maphosa said they expect schools to encourage their pupils to follow the games as a way of exposing future players.
“No longer are such tournaments taken lightly and that is why we want to encourage our schools to educate their pupils, in particular netball players,” he said. — @innocentskizoe
Online Reporter