Danville netball duo have high hopes

DANVILLE Park Girls’ High School teachers, Xolile Shange and Precious Mthembu were both recently selected for the South African squad for the Africa Netball Cup being held in Cape Town.

The tournament, which South Africa won, featured eight African teams squaring off against each other including Uganda, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho, Kenya, Tanzania and Malawi.

While Shange missed out on the final cut for the final team selections, she was thankful for the exposure.

“I’ve been involved in the junior Proteas set-up before and this was my first senior call-up to the SPAR Proteas squad. I was incredibly excited when I was chosen and though I missed out on the final selections, I’ve loved being part of the set-up. To be surrounded by players like Bongi Msomi and Precious (Mthembu) has been an enormous honour. I’ve used my time to soak up the atmosphere and learn as much as possible,” she explained.

SOUTH AFRICA 🇿🇦
2019 AFRICA NETBALL CUP CHAMPIONS 🏆#AfricaNetballCup #SPARProteas #WeAreAllIn pic.twitter.com/GQH8XsjTDW

— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) October 22, 2019

Shange said she her goal was to still make the SA senior netball team with an upcoming home series against England in November and then the Netball World Cup in three years time.

For Mthembu, being chosen in the squad of 12 has been a huge achievement after a lengthy time away from the game due to a knee injury.

“The last time I played for the Proteas was the Commonwealth Games in 2018 where I injured my knee and required surgery. I spent nine months out and acknowledging that, being named in the final team and playing in the Africa Netball Club has been phenomenal. I don’t ever take my selection for the national team lightly, even though I’m one of the seniors in the team. It’s a huge achievement and honour for me to represent my country,” Mthembu explained.

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