Rwanda’s junior handball team head coach Anaclet Bagirishya has said that he was not impressed with his team’s preparations despite his youngsters retaining the IHF Africa Zone 5B Challenge title in Uganda. Rwanda overcame the hosts 32-27 to claim the 2018 regional tournament on Sunday at Namboole Stadium in Kampala. The youngsters retained the title unbeaten with a clean 6:0 win ratio. By winning the tournament, Bagirishya’s boys qualified for the 2019 Africa Under-20 Handball Championships where they will represent the region. However, speaking to Times Sport on Wednesday, coach Bagirishya said the team “deserved better” in terms of preparations. The biennial tournament attracted the best talents from Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Somalia, Burundi, Sudan and Uganda. “We can achieve a lot more if the boys are prepared well…we need time to prepare the team. Honestly, I was not expecting to win the title, especially since we were not sure we would compete until three days before the tournament.” Bagirishya said. He added: “Now that the boys have won the Challenge Trophy, the least they deserve is better preparations for the continental championships next year. The target is to win it, a very ambitious target, but no one thought we would win the regional tourney.” At the 2017 Africa U20 Handball Championships in Senegal, Rwanda suffered an early exit, managing only one win and losing two games in the group stage. editorial@newtimes.corw
