Guinea, Burundi and Rwanda triumph at IHF Trophy Africa – Zones II and V

The Men’s IHF Trophy Africa – Zones II and V finished on Saturday with the finals and third-place matches in all four tournaments. The winners of each event secured tickets to the continental phase of the IHF Trophy, which is scheduled for December 2022.

At Zone II in Conakry, home team Guinea enjoyed double success. At the youth (U18) competition, they comfortably beat Sierra Leone in the semi-final 44:22. At the same time, Senegal also reached the final following a narrow 35:33 win over Cape Verde. The decisive match was quite one-sided, as the hosts defeated Senegal 42:16. Cape Verde won bronze, beating Sierra Leone 31:25. Mali ranked fifth following a 35:31 victory against Gambia.

The same two teams reached the final of the junior (U20) event after Guinea proved too strong for Cape Verde (44:19), and Senegal downed Mali 30:26. Guinea claimed gold after defeating Senegal 37:20 on Saturday, while Mali beat Cape Verde 45:42 to finish third. Gambia took the fifth position after a 41:31 win against Sierra Leone.

At Zone V in Nairobi, Rwanda also had a chance to win two titles but claimed only one in the junior event. In the semi-final, they had the upper hand against Burundi (48:29) and Uganda won a hard-fought match against Ethiopia (48:45). In the final, Rwanda defeated Uganda 39:37, and Ethiopia won bronze as they beat Burundi 43:40. Home side Kenya finished only fifth, defeating Djibouti 28:19 in their last game.

At the youth event, the hosts progressed from the group stage but lost 29:38 against Rwanda on Thursday. In the other semi-final, Burundi downed Ethiopia 33:26. Burundi beat Rwanda 40:37 in the decisive game. At the same time, Kenya earned bronze following a 36:34 victory against Ethiopia. 

Final standings

Zone II – Youth (U18)

1.    Guinea

2.    Senegal

3.    Cape Verde

4.    Sierra Leone   5. Mali   6. Gambia   7. Guinea Bissau

Zone II – Junior (U20)

1.    Guinea

2.    Senegal

3.    Mali

4.    Cape Verde   5. Gambia   6. Sierra Leone   7. Guinea Bissau

Zone V – Youth (U18)

1.    Burundi

2.    Rwanda

3.    Kenya

4.    Ethiopia   5. Uganda   6. Djibouti   7. South Sudan

Zone V – Junior (U20)

1.    Rwanda

2.    Uganda

3.    Ethiopia

4.    Burundi   5. Kenya   6. Djibouti   7. South Sudan

Photo: Handball Federation Guinea