Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga-Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe Under-20 handball side continued on a losing streak at the African Men’s Junior Nations Championship yesterday following a 27-33 defeat at the hands of Madagascar in the placement matches.
Going into yesterday’s encounter in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, Zimbabwe had been beaten 32-16 by Rwanda in their final Group A game.
The competition is featuring 16 teams, and the top two from each of the four Groups qualified for the quarter-finals.
Zimbabwe had hoped for a consolation against Rwanda on Tuesday as they were already out of contention for a place in the last eight after losing to Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea in their first two group games.
But Rwanda were the better team of the day.
And yesterday, it was another tough day for the Zimbabwean side, who earned the ticket to the continental event when winning the International Handball Federation Trophy Zone VI in May. Guinea topped Group A and advanced to the quarter-finals together with second-placed Rwanda.
The other teams that progressed to the last eight are Angola and Nigeria from Group B, Tunisia and Libya from Group C.
Egypt emerged top in Group D to also advance to the last eight together with second-placed Democratic Republic of the Congo.
The championship is running until Saturday.
While the junior men’s side is struggling in Cote d’Ivoire, back home the senior women’s side is intensifying preparations for the IHF Nations Trophy Africa — Zone VI, due to take place from September 15 to 19 in Lusaka, Zambia.
They have been training at Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.
Eight teams — Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and hosts Zambia are expected to take part.
The technical team on Monday trimmed the team to 16 from the 22 that turned up for the final camp. From their last camp, they had earmarked 21 players for this camp.
They are set to drop two more players before their departure scheduled for Monday.
Coach Tawanda Mapira is content with the progress they have made since their first meeting in July.
“We had about 22 players who turned up because we had another girl who did not come the last time, but we needed her, so she came.
“And we have had to make such compromises to say that since she has come, we have to put her to the test because what we need is the best for the country.
“We have got 16 players in camp in case we have injuries, so we have two reserves.
“The preparations, they are at a very advanced stage.
“You know, when you have fewer players, you can now employ more technical drills, tactical and all that, defensive formations, attacking formations.
“Now we have got room to do that because we have got the core of the team we want, so we are progressing well,” said Mapira.
Mapira added that they are pushing to have some friendly games with local clubs before they leave for Zambia.
“We have made efforts to talk to Harare, maybe to try and avoid some major transport costs, to give us some selected teams.
“We have spoken to UZ. UZ have got a vast number of players. We have spoken even to Manyame; we want them to maybe bring us a selected team that would come and give us a challenge.”
The eight countries expected to grace the tournament have been drawn into two groups, and Zimbabwe will face Malawi, Mozambique and Lesotho in Group B.
Group A consists of Zambia, Namibia, South Africa and Eswatini.
The top teams from the two Groups will proceed to the semi-final.
The champions from the regional competition secure a ticket to the continental show-piece before the end of the year.
