Men’s handball team over the moon after fifth-place in Accra

The national handball men’s team are over the moon after finishing fifth at the African Games in Accra, Ghana.

Kenya beat Mali 35-33 after leading 19-16 at the break.

Coach Peter Mwathi believes the current ranking will land them more opportunities in continental handball. 

However, they found it tough against Mali and had to change tactics to outwit the West Africans.

“We are ranked fifth in Africa. We stand a good chance to land invites for top tournaments on the continent," said Mwathi.

Kenya would have performed better if they had a full-strength team.

“While the other teams had 18 players, we only had 12. I am happy they managed to cope with the situation,” he said.

They beat their opponents through better planning, which hid their deficiency in numbers, thus psychological edge.

“We played two defence formations to confuse our opponents. First, we applied a 6-0 defence formation and switched to a 3-3. This mixed up the Malians. We were swift in attack and used the wing players more," he said.

They also forced the opposition to play rough, which delivered some penalties.

“Mali got into our trap by playing rough. It's what we wanted,” the coach explained.

Team captain Victor Otuoma said beating Mali means progress.  They were no pushovers though, and have what it takes to win a match.

“They have everything... height and physique. To beat them, one must be tactical,” said Otuoma.

Mali plays tough and can be rough at times which worked to their advantage. Kenya must keep playing in regional and continental championships to stay on top.

He attributed their display in Accra to their participation at the Africa Cup of Nations in Cairo in January— a trip that the government fully funded.

“The more we play in these tournaments, the more we grow as a team. We hope the government will keep supporting us," said Otuoma.