By Tapiwa Chawagarira
Zimbabwe’s senior women’s handball team suffered their first defeat at the International Handball Federation (IHF) Nations Trophy Africa Zone VI tournament after going down 37-27 to Mozambique in Lusaka, Zambia, on Wednesday.
The result came in Zimbabwe’s second Group B match of the inaugural senior women’s IHF Nations Trophy, leaving the two sides separated by 10 goals at the final whistle.
They went to the break tied at 16-16.
Zimbabwe had opened their campaign in impressive fashion on Tuesday, cruising to a commanding 63-7 victory over Lesotho to immediately put themselves in a strong position in the group.
Coach Tawanda Mapira’s charges went into the Mozambique encounter with confidence following that emphatic opening victory, but faced a significantly tougher examination against a Mozambican side that had also started the competition with a win.
Mozambique had beaten Malawi 39-32 in their opening match, setting up a potentially important early group encounter against Zimbabwe.
The 37-27 defeat means Zimbabwe will now have to regroup quickly as the group phase continues, with the top teams progressing to the semi-finals.
The Zone VI tournament is being staged in Lusaka from September 15 to 19 and features eight nations — Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, South Africa, Namibia, Malawi, Lesotho and Eswatini. The competition is part of the inaugural senior women’s IHF Nations Trophy, which provides national teams with additional international competition and a pathway towards the continental championship.
The Nations Trophy is being held for the first time at senior women’s level in Africa, with the Zone VI competition forming part of a wider IHF initiative to strengthen international competition for women’s national teams. The winner of each zone earns a place at the CAHB African Women’s Championship.
