Veronica Gwaze
IT has emerged that the national Under-21 netball team, which travelled to Pretoria, South Africa last month, were involved in a road traffic accident on their way to the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup Qualifiers.
Team members were, however, told not to reveal the incident.
The Young Gems finished the tournament in fourth place, behind hosts South Africa, Malawi and Zambia, narrowly missing out on one of the three 2025 Netball World Youth Cup tickets.
Players, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of victimisation, revealed that the accident occurred in Louis Trichardt.
The team then proceeded to Pretoria by two mini buses, leaving the damaged bus in Louis Trichardt.
“We are two of the three players who suffered some pain due to the impact of the accident but we were told to keep quiet about it,” said the sources.
“We could not share the news with our families and we were even forced to play without much medical attention or counselling.”
ZINA president, Leticia Chipandu, confirmed the incident but said it was a minor one.
“I asked the team not to share the news with anyone because I did not want their families to panic, the accident was not bad and there were no injuries,” she said.