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Veronica Gwaze in LUSAKA, Zambia
THE Zimbabwe netball team took a giant leap towards a maiden World Cup appearance after a comprehensive 64-41 victory over Namibia at the ongoing African Championships/World Cup qualifiers here yesterday.

After getting the better of Botswana and Zambia on Tuesday, the Gems needed to post a positive result against a stubborn Namibia to leave their World Cup qualification hopes in their own hands.

And they did just that with flawless shooters Pauline Jani and Mercy Mukwadi inspiring the Lloyd Makunde-coached side.

The Gems were made to sweat to a single-point win against the same opponents during the Pent series round match in Namibia last June.

And yesterday, Namibia showed a lot of determination but the Gems, who had to introduce Rudo Karume and Ndaizivei Madzikangava to close some yawning gaps, made sure they powered to victory.

Zimbabwe Netball Association president, Leticia Chipandu, who is part of the delegates at the Olympic Youth Development Centre, was thrilled by the performance of her troops.

“We have already started to make history in which for the first time, Zimbabwe will be part of the World Cup in Liverpool next year,” said Chipandu.

The Gems will have to win the decisive match against Kenya today.

“Today’s (yesterday) win gave us enough mileage and I am happy we managed to win by a wide margin from a team that gave us a torrid time during the Pent series in Namibia recently.

“Now we have three wins but we need one more so that we have outright wins which will guarantee us safety,” said Mrs Chipandu.

Four wins will guarantee the Gems a clean qualification to Liverpool.

“We still have very bright chances despite the tough competition in the tournament,’’ she said.

‘’We need to make sure it’s a win, and nothing else, so that out of the five games we have four straight wins.’’