ZIMBABWE junior handball coach Cephas Mushati wants the team to start preparing for the upcoming World Youth and Junior Championship after winning the regional Zone 6 International Handball Federation (IHF) held in Harare recently.
The win secured them a slot at the championships which will be staged in Australia later this year.
The tournament featured male junior and youth teams from six countries Lesotho, Malawi, Eswatini, Zambia, South Africa and hosts Zimbabwe.
The youth teams battled at the City Sports Centre, while the junior teams were stationed at Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex.
Zimbabwe’s junior team had a perfect start, thrashing Malawi 60-3 in the opener. They next faced South Africa and prevailed 31-24; then beat Lesotho 46-11; Eswatini, 67-8 and in the final match, accounted for Zambia 36-24.
“We are planning to regroup soon because the next assignment will be at the end of year. We will be doing more periodic camps to boost the finest levels and come up with more individual skills. We will also be planning to have more friendly matches with regional teams like Mozambique or South Africa so that we fine tune our team,” said Mushati.
Mushati could not hide his joy at having an opportunity to compete on the global stage.
“This is a huge milestone, not only for the team but the handball family as a whole. This is the first of its kind for winning gold as a nation, so it's a very good achievement by the team,” he said.
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“This win means a lot for me and my team. It has given a chance for a nation in the southern region to go and expose ourselves in a different environment of handball where we are going to meet different teams from other regions where handball is on another level. This has also opened some good avenues for the players to go and expose themselves with those teams and learn more skills, thereby growing the sport in our country.”
He said their first win against Malawi gave them momentum and was a confidence booster.
The youth team finished second with six points, just two behind the champions, Zambia.
In their first match, they lost 25-32 to eventual winners Zambia but recovered to beat Malawi 49-22 in the next game. They then beat Eswatini 47-5 before overwhelming Lesotho 68-6.
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