Online Reporter
Ellina Mhlanga
Zimpapers Sports Hub
ZIMBABWE Under-20 men’s handball team coach Tafadzwa Madure has saluted his charges for an impressive show at the just-ended International Handball Federation Zone VI Trophy after retaining their title.
Zimbabwe beat Mozambique 36-32 in the final at the Olympic Youth Development Centre in Lusaka, Zambia over the weekend.
The title holders went into the tournament hoping to make it three in a row, and they just did that.
“The players are happy. It was a well-deserved victory as the team worked heart and soul throughout the tournament.
“It’s the first time in Southern Africa for one nation to win this trophy three times in a row. And it means so much to the boys, to me and the administration board,” said Madure.
On their way to the final, Zimbabwe were unbeaten in the group games. They then snatched a 35-34 win over Zambia in a tightly contested semi-final.
Zimbabwe stepped up their game going into the final and emerged victorious against Mozambique.
Madure said the regional event has proved to be a vital platform for measuring their progress in terms of development.
“At least such tournaments would make us assess where we are with the development of our sport.
“There are some areas we need to work on.
“We are going to work on the physical well-being, like gym, for us to be strong when defending. We shall also work on shooting accuracy,” Madure.
The victory also means Zimbabwe are through to the Continental Phase expected to take place later in the year. However, the Under-18 side suffered a heart-breaking 29-28 defeat at the hands of Zambia.
Zimbabwe had hoped for a change of fortunes in this age group, having lost to their northern neighbour in the final in 2022 and 2024.
But it proved to be a tough task once again.
Farai Mukundu, who was in charge of the team said their defence and failure to convert chances was their major downfall.
He went on to emphasise the need for early preparations in the future if they are to go all the way when competing at such tournaments as the IHF Zone VI.
“It was a game of fine margins, and we had our chances, and we failed to utilise them fully.
“It calls for us to change our approach in the preparation stage of the games because given more time the team can perform better.
“We need to be clinical in the game whenever we get the chances.
“There is also a need to work a bit more on the defence because definitely it was a let-down today, and I take the blame for that,” said Mukundu.
“We ought to just start preparations early so that the boys get more time to play together and improve their coordination.”
Zimbabwe progressed to the final after dismissing Namibia 46-14 in the semi-final but Zambia proved to be the better side in the final that could have gone either way.
The regional competition featured eight countries — Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zimbabwe and hosts Zambia.
