Hilma Nalupe 

The U/21 women’s hockey team lost 0-13 to India in their first Junior World Cup match on Monday in Santiago, Chile. 

The women’s team went into the match with much hope and determination, but that was unfortunately not enough to score them goals. 

India’s women’s team is currently ranked 8th in the world, while Namibia is ranked 41st. 

Speaking after their loss, head coach of Namibia’s women’s team, Sedtric Makati, said he thought the ladies played very well, considering the team that they were up against. 

“India is known for their speed, something that we struggled with, but we coped. I think my team is a bit young, but that gives us that edge that no one else has,” Makati said. 

He further stated that the team will push harder in their next matches and aim to perform even better. 

“The teams here are much stronger, but we can only give our best out there,” he said. 

Men’s team 

In their final pool match, the men’s team was also defeated 0-13 in a tough encounter against Spain, yesterday in India, putting an end to their hopes of advancing to the round of 16. 

Assistant coach Randy Slabbert said they always knew that the match against Spain would be their toughest yet in the World Cup, especially since Spain is the European champions and ranked fourth in junior hockey, while Namibia is 34th. 

“We knew that they were going to come with their overlapping backs, and we tried to counter and close them down in the midfield. We coped relatively well in the first quarter, but the weather didn’t help us at all either,” he said. 

The team kept the fight going till the fourth quarter but unfortunately lost. 

The men’s team now turns its focus on the classification matches to compete for the 17th to 24th positions. 

However, the ladies remain in the running as they face Ireland today in their second Junior World Cup match. 

-hnalupe@nepc.com.na