RWANDA U20 men’s national team got off a winning start at the ongoing IHF Continental Phase – Africa, beating Madagascar 35-24 at Amadou Barry stadium in Dakar, Senegal. Antoine Ntabanganyimana’s boys looked sharper from the onset compared, making less defensive mistakes and very fast in the attack to go into half-time with an 18-9 lead.
Today
Group B
Mozambique vs Benin 4pm
Group A
Rwanda vs DR Congo 8pm
Senegal vs Madagascar 10pm
Tuesday
Group A
Madagascar 24-35 Rwanda
Group B
Benin 47-27 Ethiopia
RWANDA U20 men’s national team got off a winning start at the ongoing IHF Continental Phase – Africa, beating Madagascar 35-24 at Amadou Barry stadium in Dakar, Senegal.
Antoine Ntabanganyimana’s boys looked sharper from the onset compared, making less defensive mistakes and very fast in the attack to go into half-time with an 18-9 lead.
Madagascar returned for the second-half a bit improved, but Rwanda somehow managed to take the second-half in a narrow 17-15 win to register the first win of the tournament. In another game on Tuesday night, Benin demolished Ethiopia 47-27.
Next up for Rwanda is a clash against neighbors Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday evening, starting at 8pm. Should Rwanda win against DR Congo, they will be the first team through to semi-finals.
"We are very happy for the opening victory; the players did exactly what we set out to do. We were the better side and we absolutely deserved to win. The focus is now shifted on tomorrow’s (today) game against DRC,” coach Ntabanganyimana said in a post-match interview.
After today’s clash against DR Congo, Rwanda will return to on Thursday night taking on the hosts Senegal. Top two of Group A that includes Rwanda, Senegal, Madagascar and DR Congo will advance to semi-finals against top two from Group B that is made of Benin, Ethiopia and Mozambique.
The semi-finals will be played on Friday, while the final and third-place playoff are both set for Saturday, at Amadou Barry Stadium.