Windhoek – Namibia’s national senior women’s hockey team clinched fifth place at the African Hockey Road to Paris 2024 qualifiers this Saturday. The team’s hopes for a berth at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games concluded with their final ranking game in Pretoria, South Africa.
According to NAMPA, Namibia faced off against Zambia in a play-off match to determine the fifth and sixth places. Having been placed in Pool B during the tournament, which ran from October 29 to November 5, 2023, the Namibian team originally ended the pool matches without a win, resulting in zero points and landing at the bottom of their group.
Despite early challenges, the team redeemed their position by defeating Zimbabwe, which led to a face-off against Zambia. In the pool games, Namibia had suffered a 2-3 loss against Zambia. However, in a turn of events, they secured a win in their final game by scoring three goals to none.
Jahntwa Kruger was notable for his contribution, opening the scoreline in the eighth minute and later adding another goal in the 46th minute during the fourth quarter. Charlize Rix also scored in the 19th minute, contributing to the team’s victory.
The win resulted in Namibia finishing fifth in the championship, followed by Zambia in sixth place and Zimbabwe in seventh. The competition for the women’s category is set to continue on Sunday, with Kenya and Ghana vying for third and fourth places. The finals will see South Africa and Nigeria contesting for the championship title and the slot to represent Africa in the Paris 2024 Olympics.