The Sunday News
Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter
THERE was something to smile about for Zimbabwe national hockey teams taking part in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic qualifiers in Stellenbosch, South Africa with both sides recording wins over Kenya on Thursday.
First it was the Mary Campbell captained women who overcame Kenya 2-0 to pick up their first win in the tournament. Roxanne Viviers and Nicola Watson scored the goals for the Angus McVey coached team.
Prior to their win over Kenya, the Zimbabwean women had been beaten 3-1 by Ghana with their goal scored by Sophie McDonald before they went down 2-0 to South Africa, not such a bad result against such highly rated opponents.
Zimbabwe national women’s hockey team in South Africa
Drawing some inspiration from the women, the men’s team also got the better of the East Africans, beating them 3-2. Skipper Tendayi Maredza scored two penalty stroke goals and Tatenda Kanyangarara was on target with a penalty corner goal. Before their win on Thursday, the Tongai Mukwewa mentored men’s team had lost 6-0 to Egypt and got a 9-0 drubbing at the hands of South Africa.
Next up for the Zimbabweans are matches against their Namibian counterparts, with the men in action on Saturday while the women take to the field the following day.
Wins for the two teams will boost their chances of finishing in better positions at the end of the tournament where they are both out of contention for a ticket to next year’s Olympics Games in Japan.
@Mdawini_29
