Sun, 17 Sep 2017 08:30:39 +0000
By GRACE CHAILE LESOETSA
THE Zambia under-20 women handball team’s ill-fated trip to Ivory Coast, for the 2017 African championship, has ended in shame after losing three points for late arrival before slumping to a 15-21 loss to Angola.
Despite arriving late, the girls had some glimmer of relief when they humbled the hosts 36-23 on Friday but hours later their penance turned sour when the Confederation of African Handball (CAHB)’ handed their group A rivals Senegal three points following the West Africans’ protest.
The Zambian team was supposed to play Senegal last Tuesday, a day after the tournament kicked off, but only touched down on Wednesday due to financial challenges.
Zambia was on the same day they beat Ivory Coast set to play Senegal but the West Africans protested and the CAHB ruled in favour of their opponents.
In an interview from Ivory Coast yesterday, HAZ president Bwalya Banda said it was unfortunate that the team could not arrive in time and this cost them the three points.
Banda was however happy that Zambia managed to escape inevitable suspension had they not participated in the tournament.
“It’s a pity we could not make it in time, but we have managed to secure a place at the tournament to avoid sanctions,” he said.
He said the players have learnt some lessons from the tournament despite Zambia finishing third in group A.
The team is today scheduled to play DRC in the ranking game.
