Nigeria’s under-18 women’s handball team faced their second consecutive defeat at the IHF Women’s Under-18 Handball World Championship in Chuzhou, China, after a 26-9 loss to Montenegro on Thursday. This follows an earlier loss in their opening match.
Unlike their previous game, where they managed more shots but failed to capitalize, Nigeria struggled with a low shot ratio against Montenegro, managing only six goals in the first half. Montenegro, capitalizing on their strong defensive play, secured a commanding lead with 13 goals in the first half.
The second half proved even more challenging for the Nigerian team, led by Coach Shittu Adewunmi Agboola, as they could only score three additional goals, while Montenegro added another 13 to seal a dominant 26-9 victory.
Despite the defeat, Coach Shittu expressed pride in his team’s effort, acknowledging the disappointing results but commending the girls’ resilience. “I know these results aren’t what we expected while preparing for this competition, but I must say that I am proud of the girls for their resilience. We will now prepare for the next match and give it our all,” he said.
Taiwo Babatunde, the team’s left back, also spoke about the challenges faced due to inexperience but expressed gratitude for the opportunity to compete on the world stage. “We are not that experienced, but we have been quite good in the African championship last year, and we are trying to give our best every time. We are trying to learn as much as we can here, to become even better,” said Taiwo, whose twin sister is the team’s goalkeeper.
Nigeria will face Angola in their final group match on Saturday at 3 a.m. WAT. Angola, coming off a 30-14 loss to Croatia, will also be looking to secure their first win. So far, Nigeria has scored just 20 goals in their first two matches, while Montenegro and Croatia have each conceded 25 goals in Group B.
