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| Sports |
| Towering South Africans gave Malawi tough time |
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by
Frazer Nazombe, 20 August 2003
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16:47:59
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The Malawi national Under-21 netball team which returned from the Council for Southern Africa Netball Associations (Cosana) tournament with a silver medal on Wednesday, has said inferiority complex and their generally short stature cost them the game against the towering South Africans.
The Malawians lost the final 45-34. The tournament was hosted by Swaziland from August 13 to 17.
Netball Association of Malawi (Nam) general secretary Irene Mpinganjira, who travelled with the team, said the queens performed well against the other teams including a South Africa B team but when it came to the A team there was a kind of inferiority complex in the Malawi team.
“There was this kind of respect for the South Africans, and the other problem was height. We only had two players who could match the height of the South Africans. Most of our shooters are short,” said Mpinganjira.
She also said the umpiring was somewhat erratic but quickly pointed out that this was not an excuse for losing.
Quizzed on whether last year’s wrangle over the final of the senior tournament which ended in controversy was sorted out, the Nam GS said: “The issue is not yet sorted out but the Cosana disciplinary committee was asked by Zone VI to table it, a thing which they did not do.
“We know South Africa were secretly awarded the trophy but the issue is not resolved because the disciplinary committee of Cosana has to come up with a verdict.”
The GS also dispelled rumours that one of the officials Mary Ng’oma, who is an assistant coach of the Under-21 team, used her own money to buy an air ticket to Swaziland.
Mpinganjira said: “Government had approved 14 players, three officials (Mercy Chizemba from Ministry of Sports, coach Griffin Saenda and Nam GS) and an umpire but there was a ticket for Peace Chawinga to Johannesburg only.
“Chawinga asked for that arrangement because she had some business to do in that city and would use her own means from Jo’burg to Swaziland. It was for that reason that we asked Ng’oma to top up for that bit from South Africa to Swaziland.”
Mpinganjira also said Nam treasurer Florence Chakhaza suffered the same fate. |
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