By Victor Kanayo
Nigeria’s U18 girls beat their Benin Republic counterparts to emerge champions of the IHF Women’s Trophy Africa Zone 3 phase, which held in Accra, Ghana.
Fillers from the competition venue, revealed that Handball fans at the Tennis Arena of the Accra Sports Stadium, were in awe of the Nigerian girls, as they conveniently earned a 42-17 victory over Benin Republic.
Nigeria’s Goalkeeper, Babatunde Kehinde, clinched the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the match, after what many described as wonderful performance.
She is the twin sister of Babatunde Taiwo, who got the MVP in Nigeria’s first match against Liberia.
Also, Nigeria’s, Esther Matthew, was voted as the ‘Most Valuable Player’ of the championship, while Goalkeeper Precious Samuel, was picked by organisers as the Best Goalkeeper of the competition.
With the overall victory, Nigeria have qualified for the IHF Women’s Trophy Continental Phase.
The team won four matches, without losing any game in the competition.
Reacting, President of the Handball Federation of Nigeria, (HFN) Mr. Samuel Ocheho, who is in Accra in his capacity as the President of IHF Africa Zone 3, said he was excited that the development programmes of the Federation which aims at discovering talents is yielding dividends.
Nigeria will represent Africa Zone 3 in the continental phase of the IHF Trophy Africa phase in a yet to be announced host country in few months time.
