The national netball team, She Cranes, have been so dominant in the ongoing Africa Netball Championship at the Lugogo indoor stadium, winning their three games against Botswana, Namibia and Malawi thus far.
They face a tricky Zimbabwe today, reports JOHN VIANNEY NSIMBE.
She Cranes’ 66- 43 win over Malawi on Monday was resounding not only because of the 23-goal difference, but also because Uganda had picked a major scalp.
Malawi came into this tournament as the second-ranked team in Africa behind South Africa. So, when the She Cranes face Zimbabwe, they should have their confidence boosted even further. However, the danger for Uganda is in believing their own hype before getting the job done.
Goal scorer Martha Soigi said that last year duringthe the Diamond League Challenge in South Africa, Zimbabwe beat them 52- 50: “We cannot afford to take them lightly,” Soigi said.
She added that with the six points they have garnered so far, one more win would guarantee that they are tournament champions. And with it, an improvement in world rankings.
Uganda are currently number 13 in the world. But they expect that when the next rankings are released in July, they will have climbed up into the top 12, which is the threshold of participating in the Commonwealth Games next year.
Zimbabwe have already lost to Malawi 45-55, whom Uganda taught a lesson already. It will be hard for Zimbabwe containing the on-fire Peace Proscovia and Rachael Nanyonga.
On Saturday Uganda opened their campaign with a 72-29 win over Botswana, while they followed it up with a 69-31 victory against Namibia. Susan Anek, president of the Uganda Netball Federation (UNF), said despite the financial challenges, the competition is running well and the team has impressed.
jovi@observer.ug