Nigeria put aside their previous defeats at the 10th IHF Women's Under-18 Handball World Championship ongoing in Chuzhou, China, to earn a well-deserved 29-21 victory over Angola.
The Coach, Shittu Adewunmi Agboola-tutored team, had defeated Angola in the third place match of the Africa Women's U-18 Handball Championship in Monastir last year and continued in the same stride to extend their win over one of the best teams in Africa.
It wasn't a stroll in the park for the girls, as they had to defend resolutely against the onslaught of Angola's pivot player, Matutuzila Nsimba Miguel Afonso, forcing her and her teammates into making turnovers. Nigeria managed to win the first half 11-9.
The second half saw Nigeria's Women U-18 team come into their element as they scored several goals, especially from the near side of the goal, to win the half 18-12 and ultimately the match 29-21.
Statistically, Nigeria had 57 percent shooting efficiency from the 51 shots, scoring 29 goals. They had 75 percent near-shot efficiency, particularly from Damilola Akinlade, who was the star of the team on the day. They also had 90 percent efficiency on 6-meter shots.
As a result, Nigeria's Women U-18 Handball team finished third with 2 points in Group B, behind Croatia and Montenegro.
Coach Shittu praised his team's resilience in getting back to winning ways after two consecutive defeats.
"I praise my team for their resilience in coming back to winning ways despite their previous losses. Doing so against Angola, who are one of the best handballing countries in Africa, shows that we can set aside our losses to attain greatness," Coach Shittu said.
Nigeria will now play in the classification competition known as the President's Cup in Group 1, alongside Austria, Chile, and Angola. They will face Chile on Sunday.
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