This time, last year, the Gems were trending
THIS time, last year, Zimbabwe’s netball team, the Gems, were trending across the sports world.
They had transformed themselves into the sweethearts of the Vitality Netball World Cup in Liverpool on their maiden appearance.
In the end, they finished eighth, but left memories which could last for a lifetime.
Netball World Cup event director, Lindsay Impett, has been replaying some of the footage from that showcase and the Gems have been featuring prominently.
Their lively videos, when going to training and celebrating after winning, have provided some of the lasting images.
In one of the videos, posted on twitter, the Gems were on their way to training, singing dancing, and Impett provided a witty caption.
“Realise this is Zimbabwe again ( sorry Dan Ryan, Ireland coach) but I had to share this,’’ she said.
“I remember vividly it was Monday morning at 07.30 and I was pretty tired. This happens right outside our event office and brought me, and many others, so much joy.
“World Cup memories.”
The Gems won their opening match on July 12 after beating Sri Lanka 79- 49.
They lost to highly- ranked Australia 73- 37 in the second match but bounced back with a 51- 49 victory against Northern Ireland in one of the best matches at the World Cup.
Former Gems captain, Perpetua Siyachitema, who guided the team to the Promised Land, says the experience was amazing.
“It was an amazing experience at Liverpool,’’ she said.
“I was moved by the support we got from the United Kingdom fans. I wish we could have the same support here.
“I was moved by the fact that we had little resources when we went there but we were motivated and gave our best in all the games.’’
Unfortunately, for the former skipper who has now ventured into coaching where he guides Glow Petroleum, many of the things learnt in England are yet to be implemented.
“We never got a chance to showcase what we learnt, in my case, I have ventured into coaching, I have not expressed myself due to the lockdown,’’ she said.
“As for the younger players, who are still in the team, I never really got a chance to talk to these guys since I retired.’’
Gems head coach, Lloyd Makunde, says they lived their dream.
“Personally, I feel very proud that I managed to go and play at such a global stage,” he said.
“The first thing that comes to my mind is the support we got from the Diaspora community, it was overwhelming and amazing.
“We really felt at home and, without those fans, results could have gone either way but the fans were the extra player who made us do well.
“The game against Ireland, they were backed by England and their own fans but we had our own supporters, too, and it was a roller coaster, one of the best games at the World Cup.
“It’s one moment I will never forget.” The coach says they are even motivated to try and qualify for the next World Cup in 2023 in South Africa.
“What we saw at the World Cup really motivated us and we want to make sure that we qualify for Cape Town,’’ he said.
“Of course, it is a mammoth task. “We will see how the qualifiers run. We are ranked 12 now, in the world, but after lockdown we will work on improving our ranking.’’
However, Makunde says there is need for better preparations if the team want to compete with the best in the world.
“As much as we had prepared for the World Cup, we were overwhelmed by the stage,’’ the coach said.
“We need to prepare better than the last time.
“We were supposed to play Africa Cup in Namibia, we would have gone down to business and measured ourselves, as we prepare for 2023.
“Things are not going according to plan, we are waiting for the pandemic to blow over so that we start afresh.’’