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Ellina Mhlanga-Senior Sports Reporter
THE Central-South Africa field hockey tournament roars into life this afternoon at St John’s College in Harare with two games lined up for the day.
The tournament is a qualifying event for next year’s African Games to be held in Ghana. It is scheduled to run until Sunday.
The games get underway with Namibia taking on Malawi in the women’s competition at 2pm.
The Zimbabwe men’s team will then take on Malawi at 4pm.
Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia will battle it out in the men’s section.
The women’s section will see Zimbabwe facing Malawi and Namibia.
The top two teams from each category qualify for the continental Games.
Zimbabwe’s vice-captain Tatenda Kanyangarara said they are not underrating any of their opponents going into this tournament.
“Definitely we are not underestimating anyone. Our goal is to win.
“Our goal is to win every game and ultimately the final as well and as hockey we are trying to step into a new direction and gain more eyes on the sport. So I think in sports winning is what it takes. So our goal is to win.
“We don’t know how Malawi plays so we can’t prepare specifically for them. So we are just training as hard as we can, perfecting what we can and then we take it step by step as we get into the game,” said Kanyangarara.
Kanyangarara said the opening game against Malawi today is key in setting the tone for the rest of the competition.
“It’s very crucial because that game is going to set the tone for the set of the tournament. And winning that first game puts pressure on that first team and the team to come, so I think that game is more important than maybe the final.
“Unfortunately, not all the teams have been able to come for the tournament so I think a win will more or less put us 50 percent through the door and that makes it much easier for us, like I said our goal is to go and win everything,” said Kanyangarara.
The matches continue tomorrow with Zimbabwe playing Zambia in their second game. In the women’s section, Zimbabwe will be up against Namibia in their first encounter of the tournament.
Zimbabwe are hoping to qualify both the men’s and women’s teams for the African Games. The matches will be played in a round-robin format and the top two will then play the finals set for Sunday.
Malawi, Namibia and Zambia arrived in the country on Monday for the event.
Men’s Schedule
Today: Zimbabwe vs Malawi (4pm)
Tomorrow: Zambia vs Zimbabwe (2pm)
Saturday: Malawi vs Zambia (4pm)
Women’s schedule
Today: Namibia vs Malawi (2pm)
Tomorrow: Zimbabwe vs Namibia (4pm)
Saturday: Zimbabwe vs Malawi (2pm)
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