Namibia suffers first loss

Namibia lost 6-2 to Czech Republic in their opening Group B match at the 2018 Women's Indoor Hockey World Cup that kicked off yesterday in Berlin.The national women's senior inline hockey team was caught off-guard as Czech Republic, ranked third in the world, opened the scoring two minutes into the match via an Adela Lehovcova goal.Lehovcova netted again in the 12th minute, followed by Tereza Mejzlikova, who joined the scoring spree in the 14th minute. Lehovcova scored again in the 17th minute, followed by her teammate Renata Capouchova, leaving the halftime score at 5-0. In the second half, Namibian player Kiana-Che Cormack scored in the 26th minute, followed by her teammate Mercia Venter, who added her name to the scorecard in the 38th minute of the game.However, Czech Republic had the last say, when Lehovcova scored her fourth goal in the 40th minute, while sending a clear message that her team means business at the tournament.Namibia is ranked number two on the continent, behind South Africa, who failed to qualify for the world cup.The Land of the Brave is ranked 14th in the world.Namibia qualified for the world cup after beating South Africa 3-2 in the Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in Swakopmund last year, which also doubled as a qualification event. Head coach Edwin Haindura will have to come up with a range of new strategies and tactics, if Namibia is to survive the group stages and qualify for the quarterfinals.At the time of going to print, Namibia was expected to play Germany, the hosts of the tournament, at 19:30 last night.Germany proved too strong for Russia in their opening match, beating them 8-1 in a one-sided contest.Germany is ranked second in the world, behind Netherlands. In other matches yesterday, Ukraine beat Australia 4-3 in a closely contested match in Group B.For many of the players and teams competing at the Max-Scheming-Halle in Berlin, the tournament is the pinnacle of their indoor hockey careers, and a memory that they will cherish for years to come.The indoor world cup runs from 7 to 11 February, with the world's top 24 national indoor teams, consisting of 12 men and 12 women teams taking part in the event.This is the third time Germany is hosting the indoor world cup, following hugely successful events in 2003 and 2015 in Leipzig. LIMBA MUPETAMI

Namibia suffers first loss

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-15

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Namibia suffers first loss

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Namibian Sun 2025-07-15

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