Leemisa Thuseho
LESOTHO has retained a spot in the International Netball Federation (INF) world rankings after its last appearance in 2011.
The rankings released on 1 July 2020 saw Lesotho being ranked 40th out of 44 countries.
Australia retained its position at the summit of the rankings followed by New Zealand in second and England in third.
Malawi moved up one place to sixth, Uganda slid to seventh while Zimbabwe moved to 12th and Barbados down to 13th.
The INF used matches played between 1 July 2017 and 1 July 2019 in coming up with the rankings.
“Matches played before July 2017 are no longer included in determining the INF World Rankings,” a statement from INF said.
Lesotho returned into the world ranking following its participation in the week-long African Netball Cup held in Cape Town, South Africa last October.
The tournament featured seven nations including hosts South Africa, Uganda, Kenya, Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho and Zimbabwe.
Even though Lesotho benefited from the tournament, the team fared dismally losing all its games.
The under-21 team played three curtain-raiser matches against South Africa during the 2019 Spar International Netball Series challenge between South Africa senior and England. The games were played in Cape Town.
Lesotho Netball Association (LNA) public relation officer ‘Mamakebe Moshoeshoe the African Netball Cup and the Spar International Netball Series contributed significantly to the side’s inclusion in international rankings.
She said it was high time the country takes part in as many high-profile competitions as possible in order to improve its rankings.
“We do not have to just participate in these big tournaments for the sake of it but compete and improve. Being in the world rankings comes with a challenge and that means we must work hard stay on the list,” Moshoeshoe said.
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