Junior Queens edge Zimbabwe
The Malawi Under-19 national netball team yesterday beat Zimbabwe 42-37 in a thrilling contest at the ongoing Africa Union Sports Council Region 5 Games at the Griffin Saenda Indoor Sports Complex in Lilongwe.
Malawi are second to South Africa in the six-team tournament which is being played on round robin format.
They have two games to wind up their campaign against Zambia and Botswana.
In yesterday’s match, the Junior Queens narrowly won the first two quarters 11-8 and 20-19 before dominating the last two.
The win came barely 24 hours after defeating Namibia 42-39 at the same venue.
This was after going down 32-55 in their opening match on Saturday.
Goal-shooter Stella Matelezi led the Junior Queens’ onslaught just like she did against Namibia, converting the bulk of her attempts at goal.
Malawi’s assistant coach Beatrice Mpinganjira attributed the win to tactical discipline and team spirit.
She said: “Prior to the game, we emphasised on the need to keep possession through accurate passes.
“We further stressed the need for composure and we are happy that they played according to our game-plan. It’s a vital win for us.”
In volleyball, Malawi men’s team is out of contention for medals after losing 3-0 to South Africa while the women’s team also lost 3-1 to Zimbabwe.
In boxing, Malawi’s Wilson Phiri knocked out Zimbabwean Matendere Tinashe in the first round of their light-middleweight fight to qualify for the semi-finals while Stephano Binauli lost on points to Namibian Ishindimbwa Thomas in flyweight category.
Another Malawian Mphatso Makwinja lost on points to South African Makibele Tshepo in a featherweight bout.
