Hockey women win bronze medal

THE Namibian senior women’s hockey side did Namibia proud by edging out Nigeria 2-1 to win the bronze medal at the Africa Cup of Nations at the weekend in Pretoria, South Africa.

Namibian captain Janine Davin scored the two goals after putting her side into a 1-0 lead at halftime. The Namibian women had to cope with the fast artificial turf for most of the tournament, but competed well in the final group stages to upset Nigeria.South Africa were the overall champions in both the men’s and women’s categories.The South African men’s team beat Egypt 4-2 on penalty flicks after a 0-0 draw in the final.The coach of the Namibian women’s side, Erwin Handura, also led an under-21 women’s hockey team to victory in South Africa the previous season and brought home a bronze medal from the African Nations Cup tournament.The under-21 team won the Namibia Sport Commission’s team of the year award for their achievement, while Handura was voted the coach of the year.One of the players at that event, Magreth Mengo, was voted as last year’s junior sportswoman of the year.The code was also named as the best development programme of the year for 2004.The Namibian men’s team lost all their matches at last week’s tournament, which was held at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.The team, coached by Johan Weyhe, succumbed to South Africa (12-0), Egypt (7-2), Nigeria (4-2) and Ghana (5-0).Both Namibian teams left for this year’s tournament after realising that they did not have enough money, with only days to go before the event.The NSC and several companies bailed the teams out to make their trip possible.The Namibian women had to cope with the fast artificial turf for most of the tournament, but competed well in the final group stages to upset Nigeria.South Africa were the overall champions in both the men’s and women’s categories.The South African men’s team beat Egypt 4-2 on penalty flicks after a 0-0 draw in the final.The coach of the Namibian women’s side, Erwin Handura, also led an under-21 women’s hockey team to victory in South Africa the previous season and brought home a bronze medal from the African Nations Cup tournament.The under-21 team won the Namibia Sport Commission’s team of the year award for their achievement, while Handura was voted the coach of the year.One of the players at that event, Magreth Mengo, was voted as last year’s junior sportswoman of the year.The code was also named as the best development programme of the year for 2004.The Namibian men’s team lost all their matches at last week’s tournament, which was held at the Tshwane University of Technology in Pretoria.The team, coached by Johan Weyhe, succumbed to South Africa (12-0), Egypt (7-2), Nigeria (4-2) and Ghana (5-0).Both Namibian teams left for this year’s tournament after realising that they did not have enough money, with only days to go before the event.The NSC and several companies bailed the teams out to make their trip possible.