The U-18 and U-20 national handball teams of Nigeria on Saturday emerged champions of the International Handball Federation, IHF Trophy Tournament for Africa Zone 3 in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
The Nigeria teams defeated host Ivory Coast in both finals in what was a cagey affair to the disappointment of several Ivorian fans who were rooting for their team.
In the Cadets, the U-18 side defeated the Ivorians 29 to 24 and in the U20 Juniors, they won 29 to 28 and the Nigerians were crowned champions after their respective superlative performances at the championship.
The Ivorians had qualified for the finals in the U18 Cadet and U20 Junior categories of the 2022 IHF Trophy challenge the day before scaling their their foes in the semi-finals in a convincing fashions.
In the U18 Cadets category, Cote d'Ivoire beat Benin by 34 to 26. While the other match gave rise to a difficult victory for Nigeria over Niger by 29 to 26, just as the Ivorians defeated Niger by 34 to 28.
In the other confrontation, Nigeria defeated Burkina Faso by 39 to 26, before they shattered the Ivorian dream to claim a double triumph on the evening of November 26, 2022 at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan.
With the double agegrade wins, Nigeria’s U-18 and U-20 teams will participate in the continental IHF Challenge Trophy which will hold in Brazzaville, Congo from December 12 to 18, 2022.
THE RESULTS
Quarter-finals - U18 Junior
Ivory Coast-Burkina Faso: 25-19
Ghana-Niger: 25-34
Nigeria-Togo: 41-22
Benin-Liberia: not disputed
Cadets
Nigeria-Togo: 47-11
Ivory Coast-Niger: 37-25
Benin-Liberia: not disputed
Semi-finals
Junior
Ivory Coast-Niger: 34-28
Burkina Faso-Nigeria: 26-39
Cadets
Benin-Ivory Coast: 26-34
Nigeria-Niger: 29-24
Final
Junior
Nigeria - Ivory Coast: 29-28
Cadets
Nigeria - Ivory Coast: 29-24
