After five
competitions days at the IHF Trophy Africa in Rwanda, both Nigeria teams went
all the way, taking gold at the Continental Phase of the competition. In the
youth category, they outclassed Guinea in the final 45:31, while the junior
team clinched a one-goal win against Democratic Republic of Congo (27:26) to
take the title and represent Africa at the Intercontinental Trophy next year. The
bronze medals went to Democratic Republic of Congo (Youth) and Senegal
(Junior), who beat Zambia and hosts Rwanda, respectively.
Nigeria, who entered
the tournament in Rwanda’s capital Kigali as winners of the IHF Trophy Africa -
Zone III, finished with a perfect record, remaining unbeaten in both
competitions. Guinea, youth runners-up, only had to admit defeat against
Nigeria – once in the group phase (25:39) in Group B and a second time in the
final – while Democratic Republic of Congo, undefeated in Group A, had to
settle for the bronze-medal match after they lost the semi-final to Guinea.
In the junior
competition, the situation was very similar as runners-up Democratic Republic
of Congo were also beaten only by Nigeria in the preliminary round and the
final, while Senegal, who remained undefeated in the group phase, lost their
semi-final to Democratic Republic of Congo narrowly by one goal. In a thrilling
match for third place Senegal claimed bronze as they clinched a two-goal
victory versus the hosts.
FINAL
RANKING
Youth:
1.
Nigeria (NGR)
2.
Guinea (GUI)
3.
Democratic Republic of Congo (COD)
4. Zambia (ZAM)
5. Cameroon (CMR)
Junior:
1. Nigeria (NGR)
2. Democratic Republic of Congo (COD)
3. Senegal (SEN)
4. Rwanda (RWA)
5. Cameroon (CMR)
6. Madagascar (MAD)
RESULTS
Youth
Competition
Group
A: COD, ZAM, KEN*
Group
B: NGR, CMR, GUI
COD-ZAM 36:22
NGR-CMR 30:19
COD-KEN 39:24
NGR-GUI 39:25
ZAM-KEN 32:33
CMR-GUI 30:37
Placement
5/6 KEN-CMR 30:40
Semi-final
1 COD-GUI 29:38
Semi-final
2 NGR-ZAM 50:20
Bronze
COD-ZAM 52:33
Final
GUI-NGR 31:45
*As they did not meet the IHF Regulations, Kenya are
not included in the ranking.
Junior
Competition
Group
A: COD, NGR, CMR
Group
B: RWA, SEN, MAD
COD-NGR 20:30
RWA-SEN 31:33
NGR-CMR 41:29
SEN-MAD 41:20
COD-CMR 31:25
RWA-MAD 42:31
Placement
5/6 CMR-MAD 43:38
Semi-final
1 NGR-RWA 43:29
Semi-final
2 SEN-COD 39:40
Bronze
RWA-SEN 37:39
Final
NGR-COD 27:26
Photos:
Rwanda Handball Federation