Malawi Under-21 national netball team’s chances of qualifying for the 2017 World Youth Championship now hang by a thread following their third successive loss at the Africa Youth Netball Championship in Gaborone, Botswana.
The Junior Queens lost to Uganda’s Baby She Cranes 34-29 at University of Botswana in Gaborone.
They were expected to face the hosts last evening. Only the top three teams will qualify for the global event.
An upbeat Junior Queens coach Mary Waya told Zodiak Broadcasting Station (ZBS) ahead of the match yesterday that her charges were struggling die to the chilly conditions in the island nation.
“The girls are struggling to adapt to the cold weather and this has greatly affected their performance, but I expect them to do well in the remaining matches,” she said.
She could, however, not be reached for comment after the match yesterday.
Malawi trailed 6-8 at the end of the first quarter and were down 17-15 at interval.
The Junior Queens started the tournament on an impressive note by winning their first two games against Lesotho (81-21) and Namibia (49-30) before losing to Zimbabwe (52-23) and South Africa (55-32). n
