Handball: Ghana U-20 team win bronze in IHF Zone III Trophy in Lomé
GHANA’S Under-20 men’s handball team settled for a bronze medal at the 2026 IHF Zone III Trophy in Lomé, Togo, after a 34–25 victory over Burkina Faso in the third-place playoff over the weekend.
The defending champions opened their campaign with a 45–34 win over host Togo, where Pius Komasi was adjudged Player of the Match.
Ghana maintained their momentum in the second group game, overpowering Niger 32–20 to seal early qualification to the semi-finals.
In their final group match, Ghana suffered a narrow 37–40 defeat to Benin, but the loss did not derail their progression. Their title defence, however, came to an end in the semi-finals following a hard-fought 19–21 defeat to Nigeria.
Determined to finish strong, the U-20 side regrouped for the bronze medal match and dominated Burkina Faso, with Mubarak Bashiru earning the Man-of-the-Match honours after an outstanding display.
The Under-18 men’s team endured a tougher tournament. They opened with a 27–32 defeat to Côte d’Ivoire, before bouncing back with a 28–27 win over host Togo to reach the semi-finals.
Their hopes of improving on the silver medal from the previous edition were dashed by Nigeria, who handed Ghana a 22–42 defeat, the heaviest suffered by Ghana in recent times.
In the third-place playoff, Ghana led 19–8 at halftime against Niger but were unable to sustain their dominance, eventually losing 27–28 to finish fourth and miss out on the podium.
Reflecting on the campaign, U-20 Head Coach, Hillary Mills, admitted the challenges of defending a title, saying; “our performance wasn’t good enough, and you know as defending champions, your opponents will always come at you strongly with different tactics and players.”
“We apologise to our leaders and our loyal supporters for not defending the title; we promise to do better next time.”
The IHF Trophy is staged every two years by the International Handball Federation (IHF) in collaboration with its regional associations across the various zones. -Shesports360
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