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Tadious Manyepo Sports Reporter
THREE Zimbabwe schools underlined the growing status of handball in the country after they bagged several medals in the Gauteng South-East Handball tournament staged at Sinaba stadium, Johannesburg over the weekend.

Zimbabwe managed to send Shiriyedenga Primary boys Under 14 team while Budiriro 5 Primary had both girls and boys in the same category with Girls High providing the girls Under 16 team. And the four teams on show did well to haul three silver and a single bronze medal. The Harare Metropolitan Province Handball Association through their chairman Bernard Muzanenhamo and technical director Daniel Mtandwa facilitated the teams’ participation at the annual contest.

The achievements were quiet incredible given that all the teams had to play against academy players with the Girls High Under-16 team playing their semi-final encounter against a fully-fledged open aged club which had former Zimbabwe Under-20 captain Melissa Makuwe. Budiriro 5 girls team won bronze with their right winger Nomalanga Benge voted the Most Valuable Player fort the age group while their boys’ counterparts bagged silver.

Shiriyedenga girls, just like their Budiriro 5 colleagues also weighed in with bronze. Despite playing most of their games against over-aged teams as there had been a communication hiccup prior to the tournament, Girls High Under 16s still managed to punch well above their weight winning bronze in the process. Head of delegation and Girls High sports director Miriam Moyo hailed the teams for hoisting high the country’s flag.

“I am very much impressed by the performance exhibited by our kids. It is not easy to come to South Africa and win several medals especially playing against teams from a country with such a rich handball background. The fact that we were playing as the underdogs and still being able to win all these medals shows that we are moving in the right direction as a country. I would like to hail the players and their supportive parents for all this. My special mention goes to Girls High for defying those stubborn odds and being able to bring home that bronze medal.

“There were no Under 16 girls’ teams at the tournament yet we had travelled with that team. We had no choice but throw the team into action otherwise for the sake of gaining experience. But, they surprised everyone as they came third out of eight teams,” Moyo said. Girls High coach Tafadzwa Madure who also helped in coaching the juniors was happy with Zimbabwe’s overall performance.

“These medals are a culmination of the hard work by parents, players, teachers as well as the technical teams. It’s a step in the right direction and we see ourselves earning a handball powerhouse status in the region and beyond if we continue to support the sport,” said Madure. Participants were drawn from Gauteng province with a handful others coming from as far as Eastern Cape. Meanwhile junior basketball players drawn from Girls High, Churchill and Prince Edward participated in the Basketball in Motion rising stars camp held in Rustenburg.