Zimpapers Logo

Ellina Mhlanga, Harare Bureau
ZIMBABWE’S top netball goal-shooter Pauline Jani has challenged her teammates to give their all when they battle it out at the Pent Series starting tomorrow in Windhoek, Namibia.

The five-nation series is featuring Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe, ranked 16, and Zambia, sitting on position 15 on the International Netball Federation rankings, are the top teams in this tournament.

“We have trained hard in the few days we had with the new players that have just joined the team. Some of the senior players such as our captain Perpetua Siyachitema and vice-captain Felistas Kwangwa are not available for this tournament.

“So we are working on combinations and we want to go to Namibia and fight for gold.

“We have been encouraging each other, with the new players, during our training that we should not be intimidated. I just told them we have to play our normal game, the normal game they play here, nothing has changed. So I believe we can do it.

“We will do our best, we want to bring back gold although most of the players are still new,” said Jani.

The tall goal-shooter, who has been with the national team for eight years, said after beating Zambia in the Africa Championships in June, their game at this tournament is likely to be a thriller with their opponents seeking revenge.

Zimbabwe beat their northern neighbours 59-58 during the championships in a tightly-contested match.

“The only team that is a threat to us is Zambia. They actually want to beat us after we defeated them in Uganda, we beat them by just one point and they have declared war on us.

“They know some of our key players like Perpetua won’t be part of the team, about seven players they know are not available, so they are confident they will beat us,” said Jani.

Some of the debutants in the national team are goal-attack Tafadzwa Matura and Portia Miti.

The team will be under the guidance of Lloyd Makunde and he shared the same sentiments with Jani on Zambia.

“Our toughest opponents are obviously Zambia. We beat them but they gave us a good run, they are a good side.

“So this is the game we expect some challenge but the other countries we have to be prepared to beat them as well. However, the game against Zambia, that will be like the final but obviously we expect to beat them.

“They play a different kind of game, different from our kind of play. They are highly mobile, so our practice was to try and match their type of play and I think that way we can easily beat them,” Makunde said.

The matches will be played on a round-robin format.

The senior side left for Namibia yesterday.

Final Team

Pauline Jani, Mercy Mkwadi, Kudakwashe Muchongwe, Omega Muwandi, Tafadzwa Matura, Portia Miti, Ndaizivei Madzikangava, Patricia Mauladi, Christine Kadandara, Miriam Thomas, Ursla Ndlovu, Media Mafuta.