Nigerian teams win African zone 3 handball tourney

“I feel fulfilled and my heart is bubbling with joy because our teams have brought honour to the handball family and Nigerians as a whole,” Hamza, who led Nigeria’s two teams to the tournament, said in a telephone interview yesterday. He said that Nigeria’s male and female teams defeated their Republic of Benin counterparts in […]

“I feel fulfilled and my heart is bubbling with joy because our teams have brought honour to the handball family and Nigerians as a whole,” Hamza, who led Nigeria’s two teams to the tournament, said in a telephone interview yesterday.

He said that Nigeria’s male and female teams defeated their Republic of Benin counterparts in the finals on June 1 to emerge the winners.

The director said that the male team defeated their opponents 34-30 while the female played a 20-20 draw and finally won the final 26-24 in a penalty shootout.

Hamza said that with the victories, Nigeria’s teams had qualified to represent the zone at the next World Youth Challenge Trophy.

He said the Confederation of African Handball would meet at a later date to determine the host country and date for the global competition.

The director said that the teams were due to depart Ghana for Nigeria on Saturday by road.

He commended Nigerians in Ghana for their support and encouragement during the tournament held from May 27 to June 1.

Other countries that participated at the tournament are hosts Ghana, Togo, Liberia and Niger Republic. (NAN)