IHF Intercontinental Championship: Nigeria’s under-18 male handball team qualify

The National Under-18 Male Handball Team of Nigeria has qualified for the International Handball Federation (IHF) Trophy Intercontinental Championship.

They qualified after defeating their Guinean opponents 37-36 in their final match on Friday to finish the competition unbeaten in Brazzaville, Congo.

According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), the Nigerian team did not have it easy, as they were tied 17-17 with Guinea after the first half.

But they hung in there and won the game at the Nicole Oba Gymnasium by a single point.

According to NAN, the team maintained a perfect record in their performance at the Africa Zone 3 tournament in Côte d’Ivoire.

They had defeated Burundi in their first match 45-30, before beating hosts Congo 28-22 on match day 2 and Zambia 55-16 on match day 3.

On the other hand, their under-20 counterparts were however not as lucky in spite of defeating hosts Congo 37-18 on Friday.

The victory was not enough for them to advance as they lost to Guinea on the head-to-head rule.

NAN reports that the national under-20 side had lost to Guinea 26-28 in their first game, defeated Madagascar 51-30 in their second and beat Zimbabwe 50-19 in their third game.

The IHF Trophy Continental phase competition which started on Monday ended on Friday. (NAN)