……Malawi 48-23 Namibia
By Edwin Mbewe
LILONGWE-(MaraviPost)-The Malawi under 21 netball national team has started the Netball world youth cup 2025 qualifiers Africa campaign on high note as they smashed Namibia by 48-23 at Rembrandt hall,University of Pretoria, South Africa.
The junior queens struggled in the first quarter despite registering a 9-4 lead,however, in the second quarter,the girls improved their game and extended their lead to 24-9.
The Queens went on to lead 35-14 in the third quarter before registering 48-23 victory after regulation time.
In reaction to the win,assistant coach Cecilia Bondwe Mtukule hailed the girls for executing their duties according to plan.
“It was a good game against Namibia though we struggled in the first quarter but later on they reorganized themselves and played well in the remaining quarters.
“All sessions which we tackled during our camp came to practice in today’s match.Our moto is to play as a team and win games hence our goal which is to win the championship will be achieved.We are not here just to participate but to win and qualify to world cup”, explains Mtukule.
After the game,Malawi’ Stella Matelezi was voted as player of the match.
Malawi next game will be against Tanzania on Tuesday from 10:00hours,before meeting Zambia on Thursday 21st March 2024.
Seven teams are participating in the tournament’ play offs including host South Africa,Malawi, Zambia,Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Namibia and Kenya.
Four teams who will finish top after the play offs,will battle it out in the semifinals and qualify to the 2025 World Cup.