Sports / Other
Zimbabwe qualify for World Cup
28 Mar 2016 at 10:39hrs | Views
THE Zimbabwe Under-21 women's national hockey team are through to the World Cup finals set for Chile in December after dismissing hosts Namibia 2-1 in the deciding match on Saturday.
According to Namibian press reports, the hosts scored an early goal in the eighth minute through Carla Brits, but Zimbabwe hit back through Kelly Diplock barely three minutes later.
Namibia retained most of the possession, but were unable to score.
Zimbabwe clinched the lead in the second half through a Stephanie Campbell goal from a counter attack.
South Africa will be joining Zimbabwe at the World Cup after a 31-0 drubbing of Tanzania.
Meanwhile, the girls' sweet victory has been hailed by the Sports and Recreation Commission as testimony that Zimbabwe is still a force to be reckoned with in hockey.
"The qualification for the World Championships, which will be held in Chile, is testimony that our hockey is a force to reckon with. While we toast to qualification by our ladies hockey team, we wish to remind the different stakeholders that the road to Chile has started hence the need to immediately ensure that we resoundingly support our team along the way," said SRC spokesperson Tirivashe Nheweyembwa.
He appealed to the corporate world to chip in with whatever assistance they can render to the team as preparations must start now.
"Teams that do well at this level do so because of the balanced technical and logistical support. Logistical support to the teams has been our Achilles heel for sometime hence our appeal to all to extend their support to this team.
"The performance of any team is a function of the logistical support, technical and tactical depth that it would have been exposed to. We've no doubt that our team has the potential to leave a lasting impression at the World Championships, only if we adequately support it," said Nheweyembwa.
According to Namibian press reports, the hosts scored an early goal in the eighth minute through Carla Brits, but Zimbabwe hit back through Kelly Diplock barely three minutes later.
Namibia retained most of the possession, but were unable to score.
Zimbabwe clinched the lead in the second half through a Stephanie Campbell goal from a counter attack.
South Africa will be joining Zimbabwe at the World Cup after a 31-0 drubbing of Tanzania.
"The qualification for the World Championships, which will be held in Chile, is testimony that our hockey is a force to reckon with. While we toast to qualification by our ladies hockey team, we wish to remind the different stakeholders that the road to Chile has started hence the need to immediately ensure that we resoundingly support our team along the way," said SRC spokesperson Tirivashe Nheweyembwa.
He appealed to the corporate world to chip in with whatever assistance they can render to the team as preparations must start now.
"Teams that do well at this level do so because of the balanced technical and logistical support. Logistical support to the teams has been our Achilles heel for sometime hence our appeal to all to extend their support to this team.
"The performance of any team is a function of the logistical support, technical and tactical depth that it would have been exposed to. We've no doubt that our team has the potential to leave a lasting impression at the World Championships, only if we adequately support it," said Nheweyembwa.
Source - chronicle
