Handball: Preparations of 11th Indian Ocean islands Games |04 August 2023
National selections show improvement on training camp in Sri Lanka
Seychelles’ handball selections have shown some good performances during their recent training camp in Sri Lanka ahead of their involvement in the 11th Indian Ocean Islands Games in Madagascar this month.
In their first matches, the men’s and women’s selections collected wins against Sri Lanka Navy and Air Force.
In the teams’ first matches on Monday July 31 in the town of Minuwangoda, they defeated Sri Lankan Navy teams. The men’s side snatched a narrow 33-30 win while the ladies thrashed their opponents 43-15.
Their second matches were against Sri Lanka’s Air Force handball team at the Air Force Indoor Stadium.
The Seychelles men’s won their second game 31-23 and the women’s side managed a win on a 28-22 score.
In their third match against Sri Lanka’s Army team on Wednesday, the Seychelles men’s team lost 24-32, while the women won theirs on a 22-19 score.
The Seychelles teams were in action for a fourth time against the youth selections of Sri Lanka and there were wins for both sides. The men won their match 33-20 and the women posted a 40-7 victory in their encounter.
Speaking to Sports NATION, head of delegation Marie-Claire Chetty said the robust training sessions have helped the teams achieve those two good performances.
“The two wins are proof that our teams have grown better from the intense training. Frankly, our opponents were very good and physically strong but with determination our players managed to come out victorious,” said Ms Chetty.
She added that thanks to good teamwork and a high level of discipline on the part of the players throughout the games provided them with good results.
On the other hand, Ms Chetty said the upcoming Indian Ocean Islands Games (IOIG) in Madagascar will not be easy as our rivals such as Reunion, Mayotte and Madagascar are also training abroad in France where handball is of a high level.
“Nothing is impossible, our players are very determined and are very enthusiastic about the Games in Madagascar in a few weeks,” said Ms Chetty.
The handball delegation will return to Seychelles on Sunday August 6.
Neil Sirame