The Sunday Mail
Veronica Gwaze
THE Zimbabwe Netball team and their coach Lloyd Makunde are at peace.
Rather than partake in the ongoing public row over missing out on both the 2018 Annual National Merit Awards Team and Coach of the Year Friday night; they are happy to just have been nominated and hope to use this as the fuel that will propel them to glory at the World Cup in a few months’ time. Makunde and the Gems lost out to Cheetahs gaffer Gilbert Nyamutsamba and the rowing duo of Patrick and Rory Plunket in the Coach and Team of the Year categories.
“For us, the nomination itself is actually a win…. A big win at that,” said the Gems coach.
“It means the whole country is watching, we don’t want to disappoint” he said.
The 16-team 2019 Netball World Cup has been slated for July 12-21 at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. Zimbabwe are lumped up in Group A alongside giants Australia, Northern Ireland and Sri Lanka.
Makunde believes their ANSA nomination is a confidence booster.
“It shows we have potential and we choose to see the positive side of the nomination, we need to either maintain or raise the bar.
“Even at the World Cup, we will be graded underdogs, that alone means we need all the confidence to surprise our opponents,” said Makunde
