Malawi hockey team beat Tanzania in Africa Cup

Malawi national hockey team started the Africa Federation President’s Cup with a 3-1 victory over hosts Tanzania on Tuesday.

Malawi’s triumph two decades after their last international game courtesy of goals from James Bandawe, Dan Matavata and Dennolye Mgeni.

Malawi return to action Saturday against another neighbouring country, Zambia and another win would land the team gold medal and move on to a continental tournament.

Coach for Malawi national team Geof Biya applauded the team for putting up a spirited performance to over come the hosts who enjoyed massive homestead fans. “I would like to commend the players for being committed and focused because they played in an environment which was hostile as they were playing at home,” Biya said.

He said the victory had boosted the morale of the team to fight for honours.

“The victory would help the players to work even harder inthe next game against Zambia,”he said.

Malawi was once a powerhouse of hockey but the government directive that all national team players should be Malawian passport holders which led to withdrawal of sponsorship from Asian companies and discouraged players of Asian origine from playing hockey. Malawi was once ranked number one in Africa.

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