Youngsters groomed for world stage

Namibia's national indoor women's hockey team is in the process of grooming youngsters to make their mark at the 2023 Indoor Hockey World Cup.Head coach Erwin Haindura says they roped in young players for a recent series against perennial rivals and African powerhouse, South Africa.He said the young players were exposed to an international standard of play that will see their careers flourishing in the future.Even though the squad lost the international test series against South Africa over the weekend, they put up an incredible display, according to Erwin Haindura.The team played a series of tests in Durban, with South Africa winning the overall battle.“The first and second matches ended 2-1. The third one was a 3-3 draw, the fourth one ended 3-0 in South Africa's favour and the last match was another 3-3 draw,” Haindura said.“All the matches were close, even the fourth match was 1-0 until the last two minutes, when we had a player green-carded, giving our opponents a chance to score two goals,” he explained. He expressed dissatisfaction with the officiating during the clashes. “The matches were close and the tension was high, meaning that there is no room for errors from umpires. They denied us two positive results and the way forward now is to have neutral umpires to officiate matches.“We also need to compete regularly and against stronger opposition, in order to be ready for the 2023 Indoor Hockey World Cup,” he said.The last time the team played before the South African series was in February, when they competed at the Berlin World Cup, taking ninth spot out of the 12 teams at the global tourney.The highlights of the South African series included Gillian Hermanus walking away with the top goal-scorer award, after netting five goals. Captain Maggy Mengo won her 50th cap, making her the first Namibian to achieve this milestone, while 14-year old Azaylee Philander and 16-year-old Amber Dercksen made the international debuts.LIMBA MUPETAMI

Youngsters groomed for world stage

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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Youngsters groomed for world stage

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Namibian Sun 2025-05-08

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