Nigeria’s Under-20 Men’s Handball team suffered their first defeat at the 33rd African Men’s Junior Handball Championship in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, losing 25-20 to Angola in their second Group B match on Sunday.
The Nigerian youngsters led by Coach Emmanuel David started strongly and stayed within touching distance of their opponents throughout a keenly contested first half. However, Angola managed to take a narrow 17-15 lead into the break.
Nigeria fought hard after the restart but struggled to overturn the deficit as Angola maintained their advantage to eventually secure a 25-20 victory, handing the Nigerian side their first loss of the championship.
Nigeria had earlier opened their campaign with a 23-17 victory over Algeria, with goalkeeper Samuel Obabori Aduralare named Player of the Match.
The team will now look to bounce back in their final Group B encounter against Madagascar on Tuesday.
