GHANA’S Under-20 men’s handball team settled for a bronze medal at the 2026 IHF Zone III Trophy in Lomé, Togo, after a 34-25 victory over Burkina Faso in the third-place playoff over the weekend.
The defending champions opened their campaign with a 45-34 win over host Togo, where Pius Komasi was adjudged Player of the Match.
Ghana maintained their momentum in the second group game, overpowering Niger 32-20 to seal early qualification to the semi-finals.
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In their final group match, Ghana suffered a narrow 37-40 defeat to Benin, but the loss did not derail their progression. Their title defence, however, came to an end in the semi-finals following a hard-fought 19-21 defeat to Nigeria.
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Determined to finish strong, the U-20 side regrouped for the bronze medal match and dominated Burkina Faso, with Mubarak Bashiru earning the Man-of-the-Match honours after an outstanding display.
The Under-18 men’s team endured a tougher tournament. They opened with a 27-32 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire, before bouncing back with a 28-27 win over host Togo to reach the semi-finals.
Their hopes of improving on the silver medal from the previous edition were dashed by Nigeria, who handed Ghana a 22-42 defeat, the heaviest suffered by Ghana in recent times.
In the third-place playoff, Ghana led 19-8 at halftime against Niger but were unable to sustain their dominance, eventually losing 27-28 to finish fourth and miss out on the podium.
Reflecting on the campaign, U-20 Head Coach, Hillary Mills, admitted the challenges of defending a title, saying; « our performance wasn’t good enough, and you know as defending champions, your opponents will always come at you strongly with different tactics and players. »
« We apologise to our leaders and our loyal supporters for not defending the title; we promise to do better next time. »
The IHF Trophy is staged every two years by the International Handball Federation (IHF) in collaboration with its regional associations across the various zones. -Shesports360
Source:
allafrica.com
