Zim in semis

First to pull through to the last four of this six-nation tournament yesterday were the women’s side who made it into the semis after the hosts South Africa lost 19-15 to Malawi in the final women’s Group A match at Orlando Community Hall in Soweto just outside Johannesburg.
The defeat of South Africa by Malawi, saw the Malawians pulling through to today’s  semi-finals with Zimbabwe who they had earlier beaten 21-25 in the other women’s Group A match on Monday.
Malawi topped this group after collecting maximum points from their two matches against the Cubs from Zimbabwe and South Africa and they were joined in the semis by Zimbabwe who beat South Africa 20-17 in their opening Group A match on Sunday.
The Betta Ball Sports-sponsored Zimbabwe women’s Under-20 team finished second in Group A behind Malawi and will now meet pre-tournament favourites Mozambique today for a place in tomorrow’s final.
Yesterday’s defeat of South Africa by Malawi came as sweet music into the ears of members of the Zimbabwe women’s Under-20 team whose chances of qualifying for the semis were hanging in the balance after they had suffered a 21-25 defeat to Malawi in their last Group A match at the Wembley Indoor Arena in the Turffontein area of Johannesburg on Monday morning. After their defeat by Malawi, the Cubs of Zimbabwe were left hoping and praying that the Malawians beat South Africa in yesterday’s final Group A match at Orlando Community Hall in Soweto inorder for them to squeez through to the semi-finals.
And their prayers were answered as the Malawians did them a huge favour by beating South Africa yesterday to deny the hosts the chance of winning the women’s gold medal at this tournament.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe men’s Under-20 team also qualified for the semi-finals from Group B which also had the hosts South Africa and Lesotho in it. The Zimbabwe men’s Under-20 side made a false start in this tournament when they went down 20-24 to South Africa in their opening Group B match on Sunday but they quickly re-grouped and salvaged some lost pride when they beat Lesotho 34-24 in their second match at the Wembley Indoor Arena on Monday.
And yesterday, South Africa beat Lesotho 31-20 in the last Group B match and this result helped Zimbabwe to join the host nation in the men’s semi-finals from that group.
Like their women’s team, the Zimbabwe men’s side will meet Mozambique in one of  today’s semi-final matches and the Zimbabwe Under-20 teams manager, Kudakwashe Kanengoni, was yesterday confident that both his teams will pull through to tomorrow’s finals which will be staged at the Wembley Indoor Arena.
“Thank God, our prayers were answered today because we really prayed for both our men’s and women’s teams to qualify for the semis.
“In fact, when we arrived here in Johannesburg, our aim was to reach the semis and for us it’s mission accomplished,” said Kanengoni, who is also a prominent businessman in Bindura.