The Zambia national netball team, Chipolopolo draws fire against She Cranes in their opening match on Friday, with the latter’s win over Singapore in a build-up friendly on Tuesday seemingly inconsequential.
Uganda next plays at netball’s biggest competition in a Group D match against Zambia tomorrow and the Zambians seem confident of victory.
“We are here to win, and we want to take the World Cup to Zambia” veteran shooter Diana Banda, said.
However, the She Cranes coach Rashid Mubiru dismissed the Banda talk as empty threats.
“They can talk. Let’s wait for the right match. We shall beat them like we have always done,” Mubiru countered.
Both Uganda and Zambia are playing their second World Cup, with the former having played its first WC in 1979, 20 years before the Zambians played in Christchurch in 1999.
In the buildup matches, Uganda lost 46-67 against New Zealand and today the She Cranes take on Samoa in the third and final buildup match. Samoa is ranked 13 in the International Netball Federation rankings, with Uganda a slot below.
Besides Zambia, Uganda is also placed alongside Fiji and Wales, the seventh and eighth ranked countries by INF.
