Netball Youth World Cup hosts enter final stage of preps

Source: Xinhua| 2017-06-25 08:39:23|Editor: Liu
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GABORONE, June 24 (Xinhua) -- As the 2017 Netball Youth World Cup in the capital of Gaborone fast approaches, Botswana is closely monitoring its team's fitness levels.

After holding a smooth selection for the games, Botswana Netball Association (BONA) president Tebogo Sebego-Lebotse told Xinhua on the sidelines of the nationwide trophy tour on Saturday in Francistown, 430km northeast of Gaborone that they are now working on keeping the squad fit.

"With only a week and half before kickoff, we are monitoring the team's training load very closely," said Sebego-Lebotse, adding that they are able to gain a more in-depth understanding of the players' wellness and fatigue levels.

"This has been instrumental in ensuring that our training programme sustain their bodies, as we approach the games," she said.

A total of 19 countries and regions all over the world are expected to descend on this diamond rich nation of Botswana for the Under-21 netball spectacle to be held from the 8th to the 16th of July 2017.

Sebego-Lebotse said: "We will be supporting the team to achieve their team goal whilst staying injury-free and for them to compete at a world level with the right mindset and attitude."

She added a number of players have gained confidence while playing in preparatory games in Australia.

The trophy tour was launched last Thursday and is being currently taken to Botswana's four cardinal points with stops in major towns and villages around the country, as a way of promoting the event countrywide.

Botswana became the first African country to host the event after it was awarded the host right by the International Netball Federation (INF) at a ceremony held in the Cook Islands almost four years ago. Botswana is in Pool C alongside Jamaica, Cook Islands, Malaysia and Uganda.

Pool A comprises of New Zealand, Sri Lanka, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Samoa while Pool B is made up of defending champions Australia, South Africa, Barbados and Singapore. The last pool, D has England, Fiji, Trinidad and Tobago, Wales and Grenada.

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