Nigeria’s Under 18 men’s handball team are now champions of the International Handball Federation’s (IHF) Trophy Africa Men Continental Championship.

Nigeria defeated Guinea 38-26 on Wednesday in the finals of the tournament in Addis Ababa.

Coach Emeka Nnamani’s tutored side started the match with grit, and despite some avoidable turnovers, Nigeria won the first half 21-14.

Nigeria then came into their full element in the second half as they played with panache and flair.

Notable efforts from Christian Foloki and Azeez Sulaimon led the team to score important goals and defended better against the Guineans to win the match 38-26

With this victory, Nigeria has retained the title they won in Congo Brazzaville in 2022.

Sulaimon was voted the Player of the Match.

In a statement by Cosmos Akisi, the media officer of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN), Nnamani shared his thoughts on the team’s performance.

“We knew the Guineans from the previous times we played them, and we watched their matches in this competition so we could tactically prepare for them, which we did.

“Thanks to the HFN, they ensured that we made it to this competition despite the flight delay and gave us all the necessary backing to do well,” Nnamani said.

Nigeria has thus qualified for the IHF Trophy Intercontinental phase, which will be played early next year in a yet-to-be-known country where they will represent Africa in the Under-18 (youth) category.

(NAN)