The National U-20 male handball team made history by defeating their Ivorian counterparts 32-28 in the grand finals of the Africa Zone 3 IHF Trophy championship played at the newly-built Borteyman Sports Complex on Saturday night.
The week-long competition, which started from February 19 to 24, saw teams from Benin,Togo, Nigeria and host Ghana competing in both the U-18 and the U-20 division, whiles Ivory Coast and Liberia took part in only the U-20.
The Ghanaians started the game very strongly with an open defensive system which made it very difficult for the Ivorians to find their targets and with players like captain Elvis Sowah, Ahmed Issah, Francis Frimpong, Sosa Pascal, Ivan Nyarko and Prince Kubi ably supported by keeper Edmond Nana Addo at their best, the Ghanaians led 17-14 in first half of the game.
The Ivorians begun the second part of the game playing very fast game, and mid way into the half managed to level the scores at 21-21.
But the head coach of the Ghanaian team, Coach Hilary Mills, quickly mapped up a system with clearly blocked spaces for the Ivorians and eventually won by 32 goals to 28.
By this feat, Ghana has qualified to represent the zone in the inter continental competition alongside the Nigeria under 18 youth team.
The president of the Handball Association of Ghana, Nii Lante Bannerman under whose dynamic leadership this achievement was made, thanked the Government of Ghana for providing the Borteyman sports facilities, which he said was a contributing factor towards the victory.
Ghana’s defender, Ahmed Issah, won the man of the march award whilst goalkeeper Edmond Nana Addo won the overall best goalkeeper for U-20 junior division.
The competition also served as a stimulation exercise for the 13th African Games scheduled for March 8 to 23, 2024, and was under the supervision of Medlhat Beltagy, a former sports minister in Egypt who is presently the 1st Vice President of the Confederation of Africa Handball (CAHB).
MEN
Group A Group B
- Egypt 1. Congo
- Nigeria 2. Kenya
- Mali 3. Benin
- Togo 4. Ghana
WOMEN
Group A Group B
- Angola 1. Cameroon
- Algeria 2. Congo
3.Burkina Faso 3. Uganda
- Ghana 4. Mali
From The Sports Desk