Malawi Queens are odds-on favourities to beat Kenya this afternoon to seal their place in the semi-finals of the 2024 Africa Netball Championship in Swakopmund, Namibia.
But an analyst and former Queens’ player Annie Mopiha believes a lot needs to be done for the team to effectively compete against top sides and reclaim lost pride, considering last Tuesday’s 30-basket defeat to their once fierce rivals South Africa.
Despite the return of experienced coaches Mary Waya and Peace Chawinga-Kaluwa alongside seasoned players such as centre Takondwa Lwazi-Chiwaya and wing defender Grace Mwafulirwa-Mhango, Mopiha feels the team seems to have not improved much.
In an interview, she said: “Unless a miracle happens, it is a foregone conclusion that the Queens will ecel against Kenya, but we should be looking beyond that.
“What we need is a well-balanced mix of experienced and up-and-coming players. If you look at how the players are featured, you will notice that there is still a fear of giving rising stars an opportunity to gain international exposure.
“Most of the changes are done up front yet we need to be frequently doing that in almost all positions for the new players to understudy the experienced ones. It is a big gamble of course, but as we play today, we need to think about the future competitions as well.”
But Netball Association of Malawi (NAM) general secretary Yamikani Kauma on Wednesday said there is an improvement in the team’s performance and the new players are slowly but surely learning the ropes from the old-guard.
“It is just unfortunate that we lost to South Africa, but our girls are playing good netball. This has happened because what we wanted for young players to understudy the experienced ones is working.
“The coming in of the two coaches has helped to reinstate our playing style. Slowly, we will get there,” she said.
In an interview, Queens’ co-coach Waya said their charges are good only that they need to improve on their fitness levels and work on loss of turnovers.
She said: “We made a lot of turnovers that prevented us from scoring many baskets. We also need to work on our fitness, movement and be fast in thinking.
“So, we’ll work in all these areas tomorrow [today] so that we can do well against Kenya and qualify for the semis.”
Malawi, who are second in the group with two points following their 52-39 victory over Zambia in their first match, face minnows Kenya in their last group match at 4pm today while the Proteas will line up against Zambia.
Two top teams from each group will qualify for the semi-finals.
