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Ellina Mhlanga Senior Sports Reporter

GEMS goal attack Sharon Bwanali is happy to be back with senior national netball team as they begin their build-up for the upcoming Netball World Cup qualifiers next month.

The African countries will converge in Pretoria, South Africa, next month for the qualifiers.

Bwanali, who is also a goal shooter, bounced back into the Gems squad after missing the team’s trip to Malawi last month for the Confederation of Southern Africa Netball Associations (COSANA) Tri-nations Cup due to injury.

The Gems are camped at Girls High School.

The technical team initially named an 18-member squad but they have made some adjustments and added one more player to make them 19.

Speaking to The Herald yesterday, Bwanali said she is happy to be back in the squad before adding that the inclusion of some upcoming players is creating competition among the players.

“I am back now. I am recovering from the injury, everything is working out as I had expected.

“I got injured two months ago and I was resting all along. I started training two weeks ago for national team.

“I am happy that I am back because it was painful to imagine that my career might be affected by this injury at my age although it happens in sport. So I am happy that I am back to the national team squad and I am fit to play.

“I am excited by this competition. For regular players that have been with the team, sometimes we get carried away and assume that we are guaranteed of a place in the final team. But with this competition, there is no guarantee and we all have to be at our best because the young players are doing very well,” said Bwanali.

Zimbabwe are seeking their second successive qualification to the Netball World Cup having made their debut appearance at the global show-piece in 2019 in Liverpool, England.

Bwanali has represented the country at various levels, including the Netball World Cup, and is aware of the task that lies ahead.

Zimbabwe will be fighting for one of the two remaining slots.

“For us to qualify we need more endurance and as players we need to work as a team, train more and put 100 percent effort in everything we do. Our wish is to finish top so that we qualify.

“It’s important that we qualify because it also improves our ranking and it opens the doors for us to join other leagues outside the country like what Felisitus (Kwangwa) has done. So we really need to qualify so that we also move to other leagues.”

The Gems captain Kwangwa is back home from England and is expected to join the rest of the squad next week.

“Every team has got that one person you all rely on, her presence just makes everyone gain confidence and when she is around she motivates us.

She is an inspiration, important to the team and she is one of the senior players and we look up to her,” said Bwanali.

The Gems camp is expected to run until July 31.

From the 18 players that were initially called up, Tafadzwa Mawango excused herself on medical grounds and the technical team was yesterday finalising on her replacement.

They have also roped in another South Africa-based player Andile Ndhlovu, who plays centre, wing attack and wing defence.

Besides Kwangwa, South Africa-based Yeukai Chamba is also yet to join camp.

Gems coach Ropafadzo Mutsauki said they need to work on a number of aspects including combinations, the midcourt and shooting.

He also expressed concern over the fitness level.

“We really need to work on our fitness because we have players from different clubs, training differs so the fitness levels also differ.

Some are fit, some are not yet there, so we want them to be at same level in terms of fitness and endurance.

“Those are some of the areas we really need to work on until the day we leave,” said Mutsauki.