Chaos rocks Zimbabwe netball team
CHAOS is reigning supreme in Zimbabwe netball after the senior team — the Gems — were walked over in what was supposed to be their opening assignment at the ongoing African Championships in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Gems were scheduled to face rivals Uganda on the first day of the tournament. However, they were officially walked over after arriving late for the game. Zimbabwe, who in July hogged the limelight with a fairytale run at the World Cup in England, have slumped back to the pathetic state they were in before Liverpool, thanks largely to the poor planning of the Zimbabwe Netball Association (Zina) administration, which is under long-serving president, Leticia Chipandu.
The Gems were supposed to play the Ugandans at 8pm on Friday. However, they only flew out of Harare to Johannesburg at 11am on the same day and were yet to connect to Cape Town by 7.30pm.
Zina public relations official Maimba Mapuranga had claimed that they had successfully negotiated for a re-schedule of the game.
“The Zina president Mrs Chipandu has made the African Netball Association aware of this and consequently the Zimbabwe versus Uganda game has been re-scheduled to the last game for both teams in the tournament, “said Mapuranga.
But in a statement that was released on Friday, Netball South Africa said the game was still on. After missing the game, Zimbabwe now risk dropping on the International Netball Federation rankings, where they are rated number 13. The Gems debacle comes at a time when the Zina board is under investigation over allegations of incompetence and lack of transparency, among a host of other malpractices. The Sport and Recreation are yet to complete their probe into the allegations levelled against Chipandu’s administration. There are indicat ions that a statement might be issued by the regulatory body on Wednesday. Netball fans took to social media to express outrage over Zina’s conduct.
Meanwhile, the Gems finally took to the court and lost 69-39 to South Africa at the Bellville Velodrome in Cape Town yesterday. Against the Spar Proteas, the Ropafadzo Mutsauki-coached Gems were 21-11 down at the end of the first quarter which was played at a remarkable pace. Heading into half-time, South Africa were 39-18 up. The Proteas were 49-30 ahead at the conclusion of the third quarter and held on for their third victory at the tournament, having beaten Lesotho and Malawi on Friday.
Next up for the Felistus Kwangwa-captained Gems are two fixtures today where they take on Lesotho in the morning prior to a clash with Kenya in the afternoon. Tomorrow, the teams from different pools clash with one another based on the positions they finished in before the competition heads into the playoff stage on Tuesday, which is the last day of the tournament.
Zimbabwe Gems versus Spar Proteas: Joice Takaidza, Ursula Ndlovu, Loraine Manjoro, Patricia Mauladi, Claris Kwaramba, Felistus Kwangwa(captain), Sharleen Makusha. Reserves: Sharon Bwanali, Beverly Chipadza, Progress Moyo, Queen Sigauke. Head Coach: Ropafadzo Mutsauki
— @Mdawini_29