WINDHOEK – Going into day eight of the 8th edition of the biannual Southern African Regional Police Chiefs Cooperation Organization (SARPCCO) Games, hosts Namibia remains firmly in the driving seat, leading the medal table comfortably in the 14-nation multi games following a great start in the athletics discipline on the opening day.
The Namibian women’s volleyball team once again demonstrated their status as to why the Nampol women’s volleyball team is rated so highly in the tough and demanding national domestic league.
The Namibian law enforcers started their campaign in the competition like a house on fire – winning all their opening four matches claiming the scalps of traditional rivals South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Lesotho in the round robin encounters to set up a date with South Africa in the semifinals later today.
In yesterday’s action against Mozambique, the hosts were in mean mood and had their opponents at sixes and sevens showing astronomical virtuosity that had the small appreciative crowd on the edge of their seats through the entire match.
The top four teams from the six-nation round robin group goes through to the semifinals with top finishers pitted against the 4th placed team, while the 2nd and 3rd placed teams confront each other in the other semifinal.
In the men’s division, the same cannot be said about the lukewarm Namibian men’s volleyball side, which suffered three defeats against Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Zimbabwe although the hosts somehow managed to crawl their way back into contention with a face-saving victory against Mozambique.
The Namibians were set to take on Angola in their last group match and still had a mathematical chance of carving themselves a place among the medal collectors – come end of the games.
Namibia is expected to add to its medal haul when their athletes line up for the gruelling cross-country run with semifinals matches also on the menu in netball, chess, football, tennis, volleyball and darts.
By Carlos Kambaekwa