Zambia on Monday put up a good display against Botswana and won 50-43 at the ongoing World Cup qualifiers. But netball national team coach Charles Zulu bemoaned his defence players’ performance in the first two quarters.

“My defenders were gittery in the first two quarters and allowed goals that would have been defended. I’m glad they regained their composure and did a better job,” said Zulu.

In another game, Uganda pushed a resilient Namibia to a 72-47 scoreline, in a game that could easily be predicted in its first quarter.

Meanwhile, Malawian Netball national team coach Griffins Saenda has attributed the growth of the sport in Malawi to continued support from government.

In an interview with Goal Diggers! Saenda said it was necessary to keep women busy with productive activities in society.

“If Africa is going to continue talking about women empowerment and do less to achieve, we will not move forward. There are a number of sports activities that women have keen interest yet they receive little support. In Malawi, netball is highly sponsored and cherished by many people because of the good it does to women,” said Saenda.

“We have already qualified for the World Cup in Liverpool but this tournament is just as important to us. We want to familiarize our new players with international competition and see how they adapt. We want to win all games even though we have already qualified that is why the team I brought is a mixture of regular and new players.”