Nigeria secured their first victory at the 10th IHF Women’s Youth U18 Handball Championship in China with a 29-21 win over Angola.
Despite a challenging first half where Nigeria struggled to capitalize on their scoring opportunities, leading by only 11-9 at the break, the team came alive in the second half. They scored 18 goals to Angola’s 12, with standout performances from Damilola Akinlade, Taiwo Babatunde, and goalkeeper, Kehinde Babatunde.
Nigeria’s solid second-half performance ensured an 8-goal victory. The win places Nigeria third in Group B with 2 points, behind Croatia and Montenegro. As a result, Nigeria will compete in the President’s Cup, which features classification matches for teams that did not advance to the quarterfinals.
Coach Agboola Shittu praised his team for their resilience and improvement, particularly highlighting the progress of goalkeeper, Kehinde Babatunde. Shittu expressed gratitude to the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN) for their support and emphasized the team’s focus on performing well in the President’s Cup.
Nigeria is set to face Chile today in the President’s Cup.
