The senior national men’s indoor hockey team is still confident of achieving their goal of reaching the next round of the indoor World Cup despite going down 1-4 against Belgium on Wednesday.
The International Hockey Federation (FIH) Indoor Hockey World Cup is underway at the Heartfelt Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, where Namibia has a male and female team competing against the best in the world.
Speaking after their fourth match at the championship, captain of the senior national men’s indoor hockey team, David Strauss said they will call on their renowned fighting spirit to seal a spot for the first time in the competition’s playoff.
“We know New Zealand are not an easy side and they can surprise anyone at any time, but we are still confident that we can finish in the top four,” Strauss said.
He added that no team can be taken lightly but their spirit is strong, and that as Namibians, they will give all glory to God to give them strength.
“As Namibians, we never quit. That’s one thing about us, in every tournament, even if we are losing, we don’t give up,” said Strauss, who added that he was disappointed in their loss against Belgium as they failed to capitalise on their chances.
The Namibian men’s team will face New Zealand in a key showdown on Thursday at 21h20. A win would clinch their place in the top four in Pool B, which is being led by Austria with 12 points.
Meanwhile the Namibian women’s team, who are yet to win a game at this year’s world cup, lost their match against Belgium 1-2. Their third defeat at the competition means the African champions will finish in the bottom two of their pool, missing out on the top eight playoffs.
Team coach Erwin Handura said the defeat was another frustrating game with missed chances.
“We knew it was going to be a very close game and we just needed to put our chances away,” he said, adding that their biggest downfall during the whole tournament was their failure to get the ball into the back of the net, despite playing well.
They will finish their pool matches against Czech Republic on Thursday at 16h40.
Source: The Namibian Press Agency
