recent defeats to Ghana in football and hockey by walloping the West Africans 102-23 in their ongoing round-robin matches of the All-Africa Games at Munhuana here yesterday.
Featuring an awesome line-up consisting of sharp-shooters Pauline Jani and Netsai Muchemwa along with Railstars’ defence mainstay Sukohlule Nkomo, Charlotte Maganyani, Perpetua Siyachitema, Edzai Sikhosana and Daphne Agere, the netballers have been providing the cheer in the Team Zimbabwe camp with blinding performances that have kept the country’s flag flying high.
Their third victory in four matches continued to carve open the Ledwin Dondo-coached side’s road to a prize-winning finish in the nine-team group whose top three will share the three medals on offer at the end of competition.
Netball are the only team sport keeping their heads up for Zimbabwe after the Mighty Warriors lost their first two football matches to South Africa (1-4) and Ghana (1-2) to bow out of the Games with a single match to fulfill against Tanzania’s Twiga Stars tomorrow.
The women’s basketball team, who are also sticking around Maputo for academic purposes only after losing four of their five group stage encounters, continued their losing streak with a 50-57 reverse to Cameroon at Desportivo yesterday to leave them in danger of carrying home the wooden bowl when the final basketball standings are made at the end of competition.
But Leticia Chipandu, the Zimbabwe Netball Association president, said her sportswomen would not the rest until they grabbed the first-ever continental honours for Zimbabwe in their previously waning discipline.
“I want to tell the nation that we are competing for the gold medal here, nothing less.
“And our chances of getting that first prize are very high. We have made thorough preparations and we brought here the best players from the national league that we have revived and you can see from the giant players in our team that we scouted extensively,” Chipandu told The Herald.
The availability of a wide pool of talented players to choose from has made selection work easier for national coach Dondo and her assistant Jonata Phiri of Bulawayo side Railstars. Replacements for injured players have not been difficult to secure as the bench boasts equally talented players in Caroline Matura, Mercy Makiyi, Rudo Karume and Blessing Mufandaedza.
Towering Nehanda Nyakasikana goal shooter Patience Chinhoyi is also making a vital presence in the team having arrived on the scene only last year from a lengthy career in basketball that also saw her turn out for the national basketball side.
Chinhoyi overcame a slight arm injury at the start of the Games to play her first match against Ghana yesterday.
The netballers will, however, only be certain of a medal of any colour after rounding off their outstanding fixtures against Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda and Kenya.
A wounded Mighty Warriors are also preparing to wave adieu to the 10th All-Africa Games when they clash with Tanzania on the Machava Stadium artificial turf tomorrow. Tanzania need to win the match in order to stand a chance of joining Group B leaders Ghana in the semi-finals after the West Africans hit the six-point mark which catapulted them to the next stage with a match to spare.
Tanzania drew 2-all with South Africa on Wednesday for their first point in the competition after earlier falling 1-2 to Ghana. The Twiga Stars will draw level with Banyana Banyana, who already have four points, if they win over Rosemary Mugadza’s charges but must then hope Ghana complete a treble of victories in their outstanding clash against the South Africans in order to go through on goal difference.
With that in mind, Mighty Warriors technical advisor Takaendesa Jongwe knows it be will a tough river to cross as Tanzania, whom they defeated at the Cosafa Women’s Championships in Harare in June, will now be at their best.
“The intention now is to go home with at least a win from the All-Africa Games as that feat will remain inspirational for future competitions the girls will be involved in. I have already pointed out that we have young and upcoming players who will be a formidable outfit if kept together for future competitions including the the next All-Africa Games in 2015,” said Jongwe.

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