Williams wins Namibia’s 8th medal

Ryan Williams won Namibia’s eighth medal at the Africa Games in Accra on Monday when he came third in the men’s discus final.

Victor Hogan of South Africa won the gold medal with a throw of 62,56m, while Khennoussi Oussama of Algeria won silver in 59,97m and Williams bronze in 55,42m.

It brought Namibia’s medal tally to eight (one gold, three silver, four bronze) which put them 18th overall on the medal standing by yesterday afternoon. 

Egypt was way out in front with 158 medals (91 gold, 36 silver, 31 bronze), followed by South Africa (27 gold, 21 silver, 30 bronze) and Algeria (26 gold, 29 silver, 38 bronze). 

In the men’s 100m sprint, Gilbert Hainuca made it through to the final, while Elvis Gaseb made it to the semifinals.

Hainuca won Heat 3 in 10,34 seconds, and then came third in his semifinal heat in 10,46 seconds to grab spot in the final.

Gaseb came sixth in Heat 1 in 10,47 seconds to progress to the next round, but his journey came to an end in the semis where he finished fifth in 10,55 seconds.

Another Namibian sprinter, Hatago Murere, failed to reach the semifinals after finishing sixth in his heat in 10,91 seconds.

In the women’s 100m sprint, Sade de Sousa and Ndawana Haitembu both made it to the semifinals, before their run came to an end.

De Sousa finished fourth in Heat 5 in 11,87 seconds, but then finished sixth in her semifinal heat in 11,96 seconds and failed to make it to the final. 

Haitembu finished fifth in Heat 3 in 11,85 seconds, but then finished sixth in her semifinal heat in 12,10 to be eliminated from the final. 

In Heat 4, Jade Nangula narrowly missed out on a place in the semifinals after finishing fifth in 12,27 seconds.

In the men’s 400m Ivan Geldenhuys and Andre Retief qualified for the semifinals after both finished fourth in their heats, with Geldenhuys’ time being 47,56 seconds and Retief’s 47,21.

Lutahezi Dux, however, failed to progress to the semis after finishing sixth in 47,70 in his heat.

In the women’s 400m, Napuumue Hengari and Nandi Vass both failed to reach the semifinals. Hengari finished sixth in her heat in 58,51 seconds, while Nandi Vass did not start her heat.

In the men’s 800m heats David Dam managed to qualify for the semifinals after finishing fourth in his heat in a time of 1:47,42.

Arno Angula, however, failed to reach the next round after finishing sixth in his heat in 1:53,71.

In the women’s 800m first round heats, Tuuliki Angala finished fourth in her heat in a time of 2:10,66 and missed out on a place in the final. 

In the 4x400m mixed relay event the Namibian team came fourth in their heat in a time of 3:37,19 and just managed to qualify for the final.

Eagles find the going tough 

Namibia’s Richelieu Eagles have been struggling in the men’s cricket competition and are currently bottom of their group after losing their opening two matches.

On Sunday they lost by 35 runs to Zimbabwe, who amassed a formidable 197 for six wickets and then restricted Namibia to 162/8. 

In Zimbabwe’s innings, Brian Bennett scored 65 off 39 balls (4×4, 3×6), while Jonathan Campbell added 39, Rodney Mupfudza 32 and Tashinga Musekiwa 28.  

Nicol Loftie-Eaton was Namibia’s best bowler with two wickets for 27 runs.

In reply, Namibia got off to a great start as Niko Davin and Malan Kruger put on 73 runs in seven overs, but Owen Muzondo got the breakthrough when he dismissed Kruger for 46 off 23 balls (10×4).

Zimbabwe steadily gained the initiative as more wickets tumbled and Zimbabwe eventually completeda comfortable victory. Namibia’s top batters were Kruger, Davin (37) and Gerhard Janse van Rensburg (32), while Muzondo was Zimbabwe’s best bowler, taking 3/29.

On Monday, Namibia suffered a three-wicket defeat to Nigeria in a thriller that went down to the wire.

After electing to bat, Namibia struggled to get going as Nigeria pegged them back with regular wickets. 

Leicher was Namibia’s top batter with 42 not out off 41 balls (2×6), while Loftie-Eaton scored 27, but they received little support as Namibia were restricted to 121/7. 

In reply, Nigeria made a steady start and despite losing regular wickets, the match was evenly balanced throughout until the end, with Nigeria hitting the winning runs off the last ball of the match. 

Their top batters were Isaac Danladi (28), Daniel Ajekun (20) and Sylvester Okpe (22 not out), while Loftie-Eaton took 3/20. 

Namibia are now bottom of Group B and will have to post a resounding win against Tanzania today if they hope to reach the semifinals.