admin
Ellina Mhlanga
Senior Sports Reporter
THE Under-20 men’s handball team coach Cephas Mushati is pleased with the progress his side is making ahead of their departure for the International Handball Federation Challenge Trophy continental phase in Congo.
The tournament is running from January 16 to 20 in Brazzaville.
The matches will be played in a round-robin format and Zimbabwe will take on the hosts Congo in their opening game on Monday.
“According to the session we had yesterday, they (the players) are coming up, they just responded very well and I think they are now ready to go.
So in terms of fitness I think they are okay,” said Mushati.
The team is scheduled to leave for Congo on Sunday and arrive on Monday, just hours before their first match. “What we are going to do, is we are going to make sure that Saturday is rest day, so that they have time to rest. So our programme now we are going to run it in a way that everything we are going to do is done by Friday.
“I hope we will have a bit of time to loosen up. I don’t think it (the travelling arrangement) will have much effect on our players, they are fit and I believe they will be able to cope. We will also try to psych them up so that they focus on the game
“Basically, what I have observed according to the fixture, we are going to play the hosts in the first game, so I know pressure will be on the hosting team.
“So what we need to do, is to talk to our guys. We have to play our normal game and we don’t have to be intimidated by the fans and playing the hosts,” said Mushati.
After the game against Congo, Zimbabwe will then play Guinea on Tuesday and Nigeria the following day. They will then face Madagascar on January 19 and Rwanda on the last day of the competition.
The only team they have played before is Madagascar.
“Actually what I can say is the only team we know is Madagascar, we have played them before.
“For the other teams, we have seen their videos but we have got a good side and what we are basing on is that we were affected by Covid and were not playing… I think we are within the range to challenge the other teams.
“We are really expecting a win, we are going there as underdogs but we have a good side,” Mushati said.
The Zimbabwe junior side will be playing at this level for the first time after securing their place when they emerged winners at the IHF Trophy Zone VI held at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex last year.
The technical team will also be banking on the fact that they managed to retain most of the players that won the regional tournament.
The Zimbabwe Handball Federation secretary-general, Edson Chirowodza, said they had some challenges in securing flights for the team to arrive early in Congo.
“We had challenges in securing flights for them to arrive a day earlier and also funds to have the team stay there ahead of the tournament,” said Chirowodza.
Winners from this tournament progress to the intercontinental event.
Online Reporter