Zim Gems vie for World Cup slot

20 Jul, 2014 - 06:07 0 Views

The Sunday Mail

THE Zimbabwe netball team has been presented with a grand opportunity to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Australia, with the automatic qualification of giants Malawi and South Africa opening up two more African slots.
The top six-ranked teams on the International Netball Federation standings by July 1 automatically booked their places at the tournament to be held in Sydney, Australia.

Malawi and South Africa were ranked fifth and sixth respectively at the beginning of the month.
Their automatic qualification means that the continent will have four representatives at the world netball showcase.

It has since emerged that September’s African Netball Championships, to be held in Botswana, will be used to choose the continent’s two other representatives.

Malawi and South Africa are among the favourites at the ANC, but with the their World Cup tickets already in the bag, the two best-performing teams, away from the already qualified pair, will also qualify for the Australian jamboree.

Zimbabwe are ranked 26th in the world and will compete with Tanzania (14), Uganda (15), Botswana (16), Zambia (22), Namibia (27) and the unranked Lesotho for the two World Cup tickets.

With such a seemingly easy route, The Gems, as the netball national team is known, should be fancying their chances.
Zimbabwe Netball Association president Letitia Chipandu disclosed that selection of players has already begun and is optimistic the ladies will grab the opportunity.

“We have a good chance,” she said.
“We are already making efforts to rope in Joyce Ngwarai, who plays in Australia, so that we maximise our chances of competing at the highest level.

“Selection of players has started and they will go into camp early next month.
“We are also looking at juniors, as we try to add some speed to our game. We have always had a challenge with height, but that’s not everything in netball; coaches will need to sharpen player skills and work on combinations.”

The Gems endured a tough campaign at the last ANC in Malawi, bowing out in the pool stages after recording a solitary victory over Botswana and losing to the hosts and Zambia.

However, they showed signs of improvement during the Diamond Cup in South Africa last October when they recorded their first ever win over the Zambians.

Chipandu reckons more “great” performances are coming from the team.
“That international exposure has been crucial,” she said.

“After beating Zambia, expectations will be high and I remain confident that the girls will handle it all well and do us proud.
“Apart from the Australia-based Joyce Ngwarai, we also have a promising star in Paidamoyo Tinoza who should be able to partner well with Pauline Jani.”

Other players who are making cases for national team call-ups include the ZDF Queens’ pair of Besta Harrison and Miriam Lazaro as well as Stanbic’s Caroline Musemwa.

 

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