Nigeria’s under‑18 girls were crowned champions of the IHF Women’s Competition Africa Zone 3 Phase on Saturday night, after defeating Benin Republic in Accra, Ghana. Cosmos Chukwuemeka, Media Coordinator of the Handball Federation, announced the result in a statement released to journalists in Lagos on Sunday.
The fans at the Tennis Arena of the Accra Sports Stadium were impressed by Coach Shittu Agboola Adewunmi’s tutored side, which secured a convincing 42‑17 victory over Benin. Kehinde Babatunde was named the Most Valuable Player (MVP) of the match for her outstanding performance. She is the twin sister of Taiwo Babatunde, who received the MVP award in Nigeria’s first match against Liberia.
Nigeria qualified for the IHF Women’s Trophy Continental Phase, winning all four of its matches without a loss. Esther Matthew was voted the Most Valuable Player of the championship, while goalkeeper Precious Samuel was selected as the Best Goalkeeper of the competition.
Samuel Ocheho, President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) and also President of IHF Africa Zone 3, expressed his excitement about the achievement. He noted that the HFN’s development programmes for discovering talent are bearing fruit: “I am super‑excited that the programmes of the HFN to discover players through our under‑age competition are yielding dividends. This is a testament to the success of our programmes, and we will continue to develop the game and ensure its growth.”
Nigeria will represent Africa Zone 3 at the continental phase of the IHF Trophy Africa competition, with the host country to be announced soon. (NAN)
Comments are closed for this story.