By Chinedum Ohanusi
Nigeria’s Senior Men Handball team, the Golden Arrows, fought bravely, but ended up stumbling to a narrow 27-24 defeat, handed them by the Black Panthers of Angola, in one of the quarterfinal fixtures of the 27th Africa Men’s Handball Nations Cup, played on Sunday, in Kigali, Rwanda.
It was the first defeat suffered by the Golden Arrows, who won all three of their preliminary fixtures, against Algeria, Zambia, and Rwanda, to finish top of Group A, of the 27th edition of the continental championship.
Sunday’s quarterfinal fixture, played at the ultra modern BK Arena, in Kigali, capital of Rwanda, saw the Angolans taking control early in the contest, edging the first half 14-11 after capitalizing on key moments, and playing with defensive solidity.
Despite a spirited response from the Golden Arrows in the second half, the Southern Africans who were 2nd best in their group, were spurred on by star player Cláudio André Patrício Chicola who netted 14 goals, as they maintained good composure to seal the victory.
Faruk Yusuf led the Golden Arrows’ scoring chart with 9 goals, Salami Hakeem provided strong support with 6 goals, while Sulaimon Azeez also made a notable contribution with 4 goals, and lanky Shagari John added 3 goals from the backcourt.
However, the defeat, did not end Nigeria’s push for a semi-final spot, as the Golden Arrows boasts a better goal difference than Angola, and currently sit second behind Egypt in the semi-final placements.
Nigeria will now turn their attention to a crucial clash against Egypt, where a favourable result could secure a place in the final four, and potentially seal a long-awaited qualification for the 2027 World Championship in Germany.
In all of these, the ongoing tournament in Rwanda, is the first time Nigeria is able to reach the last eight, having last done so in 1996, when South Africa hosted the championship.
