Ghana U-18 and U-20 Women's Handball Teams Suffer Defeats at Ongoing IHF Tournament
Ghana’s U-18 women’s handball team lost their third group game to defending champions Nigeria.
The first half ended 14-18 in favor of Nigeria. Despite efforts to close the gap, Ghana was unable to recover and eventually lost the match 24-35.
Ruth Ativor was a standout performer for Ghana and was rewarded with the Most Valuable Player (MVP) award for her exceptional play.
The U-18 team is scheduled to play their next match against the Central African Republic on Wednesday morning at 10:00 am.
Meanwhile, the U-20 women’s team also faced a heavy defeat in their match against tournament hosts Ivory Coast.
By the 16th minute, Ghana trailed 1-9, and things worsened when Josephine Mensah received a red card in the 18th minute for an infringement.
Despite these setbacks, the Ghanaian side fought back to narrow the deficit to 10-12 by halftime.
However, the momentum could not be sustained in the second half, with the team struggling in both defense and attack.
Ivory Coast capitalized on Ghana’s errors with fast breaks and ball steals, dominating the second half and sealing a 33-18 victory.
On Match Day 4, Ghana’s U-18 team will face the Central African Republic at 10:00 am, while the U-20 side will play against Togo at 2:00 pm.
Speaking after the match, Head Coach Raphael Sifah expressed optimism despite the results; "we had a short time to prepare as a team, and unlike our opponents, we don’t have extra players for substitutions,” he said.
"That said, we’ve won three MVP awards so far, which shows we have talent. I believe with time, we can build a stronger team for future tournaments.”
HAG COMMUNICATION (Nana Adwoa Kwofie)
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