The Malawi Under-19 National Netball Team went down fighting, losing to South Africa 37-32 in the final of the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Youth Games in Windhoek, Namibia, on Friday.
The strong-willed Malawi girls looked poised to cause an upset as they led 9-7 in the first quarter.
They were 17-16 up at half-time, but South Africa showed class to turn it around from the third quarter, dominating until the end to bag gold and Malawi to find solace in silver.
The victory meant South Africa completed a double over Malawi, having won 48-29 in group stages
To qualify for the final, Malawi showed characteristic grit by beating Zimbabwe 51-43 after trailing in the first three quarters.
In other matches in group stages, Malawi beat Zambia 48-46 in a tightly contested affair in which they also trailed in the first three quarters and easily swept aside E-swatini 73-21.
Malawi coach Jane Chimaliro said despite the loss, she was proud of her players’ fighting spirit.
She said: “Today, we took South Africa head on, we dominated in the early stages, but towards the end, fatigue caught up with the girls.
“It is a learning curve and they will keep getting better with time.”
