Handball championships: Goalkeeper says they are good enough for trophies

Kehinde Babatunde, the goalkeeper of the Lagos under-15 female team, said on Monday her team was sure of winning their competition at the ongoing National Handball Championships in Lagos.

The championships being organised by the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) is holding at the Rowe Park Sports Centre in Lagos.

Babatunde, whose team beat Ogun 28-8 on Day Three of the competition, attributed their success to team spirit, exceptional skills and techniques displayed against Team Ogun.

“We are always training because our coaches made us to know that the more we train, the more we improve on our skills, and that has been helping us.

“Ogun players are good and they played well, but I think that we are more coordinated and entered the court with confidence that we will thrash them.

“We have proved that we are the leading state in handball and we will continue in that direction until we achieve our target of winning the trophies available,” she said.

Babatunde described the championships, which has teams from 15 states in attendance, as well organised because the age categories requirement was adhered to for a level-playing ground for all participating teams.

The two-time winner of best female goalkeeper award in the Opeifa Cup, a Lagos State Handball Association (LSHA) championship, applauded the HFN for the good measure.

“I like the way everything is going on at the championships. All of us in the team are of same age. So, there is no form of intimidation and everyone is happy and playing freely,” she said.

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Meanwhile, Lucas Honvo, a LSHA coach, has said he was impressed with the performance of teams at the championships, adding that the Lagos teams played as expected.

“Our teams in all classes and categories are formidable. The players who make up the teams are committed, focused and eager to excel in the championships,” he said.

Honvo said a major objective of the championships which was to identify young talents would be achieved because it was featuring serious teams from various states.

Results at the championships show that in the under-15 male, Adamawa lost 14-23 to Sokoto, while in the under-12 female category Ogun beat Ekiti 23-2.

Also, in the under-12 male, Niger beat Kano 27-5.

The U-12 and U-15 championships which began on Friday and end on Sunday is hosted by the LSHA and it is an annual event of HFN.