By GPC Sports Reporter
Kenya’s national women’s netball team, the Divas, kept their hopes of qualifying for the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney, Australia, alive after producing a historic 54-50 victory over Zambia at the Africa Netball Cup in Nairobi on Wednesday.
The Divas fought back from a four-goal deficit at half-time to beat Zambia for the first time and secure their place in the semi-finals at the Kasarani Indoor Arena.
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The victory provided a major boost for the hosts, with Kenya now within touching distance of a place at the global tournament.
At the same venue, Kenya’s men’s team, the Net Kings, ended the round-robin stage with a 48-43 defeat by Eswatini, leaving them with one victory from their campaign.
Divas rally to make history
Zambia controlled much of the opening half, edging the first quarter 14-13 before taking a 27-24 lead into the break.
Kenya returned from half-time with renewed purpose, with goal shooter Lydia Nyapere and goal attack Doreen Akinyi leading the comeback.
Nyapere levelled the scores at 29-29 with 10:55 remaining in the third quarter before Doreen put Kenya ahead at 30-29.
The two sides traded goals before Kenya began to establish control. Nyapere’s shooting helped the Divas take a 41-37 lead into the final quarter.
Kenya remained composed despite a late Zambian fightback, with Nyapere making it 46-41 with 8:08 remaining before Doreen added two goals to stretch the advantage to 49-42 with 6:29 on the clock.
Zambia reduced the deficit late in the match, but Kenya held firm to secure a 54-50 victory.
For Nyapere, who plays for Zimbabwean side Makate High Flyers and is Kenya’s first foreign-based player, the victory meant more than reaching the semi-finals.
“We really needed the win as a team. We really wanted to qualify to Sydney,” she said.
“It was not an easy match. It was so physical, to a point we were almost losing it. But since we have those smart coaches, they were able to calm us down.”
Nyapere said the players also had to regroup during the match to prevent the pressure from getting the better of them.
“As a team, we also called ourselves into a meeting and we had to calm down for us to have the win,” she said.
The victory was particularly significant for Nyapere because it was her first time playing against Zambia.
“Since I started playing, I have never faced Zambia. But this is the first time we are facing Zambia. And this is the first win I am getting from Zambia,” she said.
Kenya coach Tapiwa Chirenda praised his players for maintaining their composure against a strong Zambian side.
“We knew Zambia, when they came first, they were jet-lagged. And the games they played prior to these games, you could see they were improving every time,” Chirenda said.
“This is a very strong squad. I would love to say to Zambia, they gave us a good fight. These guys were so good.”
Chirenda said the technical bench had reviewed Kenya’s earlier performances and taken responsibility for the mistakes that needed to be corrected.
“We went back. We sat down. I took responsibility. We started over. We started afresh. And today, the game that mattered the most, we won,” he said.
Zambia’s Grace Sakala acknowledged Kenya’s breakthrough, attributing her side’s defeat partly to problems with combinations and passing.
“The match was really tough, despite Kenya being the first time winning us,” Sakala said. “It was really hard for us. Maybe what did not work for us today was combinations and passes.”
Eswatini end Net Kings’ campaign
Kenya’s men could not match the Divas’ comeback as Eswatini held on for a 48-43 victory in their final round-robin match.
The Net Kings, coached by Peter Oloo, were forced to chase the game from the opening quarter after Eswatini took a 15-9 lead.
Kenya struggled to contain Eswatini’s attacking momentum and were punished for several misplaced and intercepted passes.
Goal shooter Christovin Juma provided much of Kenya’s scoring threat, while goal attack Victor Mbithi helped keep the hosts within reach.
Kenya improved in the second quarter but still went into half-time trailing 27-22.
The Net Kings produced their strongest spell in the third quarter, with captain Julius Karanja’s interception helping to spark the comeback.
Juma and Mbithi repeatedly found the target as Kenya reduced the deficit to 31-28 and later 33-30, but Eswatini maintained a 36-33 advantage going into the final quarter.
Kenya then levelled the scores at 38-38 with 9:39 remaining, raising hopes of another comeback.
Juma later brought Kenya to within one goal at 44-43, but Eswatini held their nerve to close out the 48-43 victory.
The result leaves the Net Kings to fight for fifth place against Malawi on Thursday, with the winner set to face Uganda in the bronze-medal match on Friday.
Eswatini’s Nduku Masangane described the match as tense and credited the Kenyan supporters for creating a difficult atmosphere.
“It was a tight match, a tense one, and I am happy Eswatini won,” Masangane said.
“The victory is motivating to us because we managed to win by six goals after a draw at some point.”
Kenya goal attack Mbithi said the match had carried an additional emotional significance following Eswatini’s narrow victory over Kenya at last year’s tournament in Malawi.
“Today’s match was like a revenge,” Mbithi said.
“We had poked Eswatini on TikTok after they beat us by one goal during last year’s edition in Malawi. After that loss, we told them when they come to Kenya we will prove them wrong.”
However, Mbithi admitted the Net Kings failed to maintain the consistency required to complete the comeback.
“We need to check on our patience and consistency because we led the second and third quarter only to lose the match,” he said.
Elsewhere, Uganda defeated Malawi 52-31 in the men’s competition after taking control following an even opening spell.
The teams were tied 6-6 early in the match before Uganda surged ahead to lead 23-11 at half-time. Uganda extended the advantage to 37-23 after three quarters before completing a 52-31 victory.
Uganda’s women also held off a spirited Malawi comeback to win 54-49.
Uganda dominated the opening half, leading 19-4 after the first quarter and 34-19 at half-time, but Malawi fought back strongly after the break to reduce the deficit to 42-38 by the end of the third quarter.
Uganda steadied itself in the final period to secure the victory.
Zimbabwe’s women, meanwhile, recorded the biggest victory of the day, beating Tanzania 73-28.
The results continued to shape the semi-final race, with teams also battling for crucial qualification places for the 2027 Netball World Cup in Sydney.
For Kenya, Wednesday produced contrasting fortunes. While the Net Kings’ campaign was pushed towards the lower classification places, the Divas gave the home crowd renewed hope with a historic victory that kept their Sydney dream alive.
