THE national U-20 handball team has intensified its preparation for the upcoming regional handball challenge trophy. The event scheduled to run from August 30 to September 6 will be staged in Burundi’s capital, Bujumbura.

Knowing that they face tough opponents in Zambia, Uganda, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and hosts Burundi, the team has stepped up to two daily training sessions.

"It will be the first competitive tournament at this level but we want to make the most of it,” the team coach Jean Baptiste Ngarambe said.

Ngarambe also believes that the mere fact that most of the players on the team are fresh from the post primary school competition is a big plus for Rwanda.

Handball is one of the oldest sporting disciplines in Rwanda. Currently, the national league involves six clubs; APR, Police, Rwanda National University (UNR), Kigali Institute of Education (KIE), School of Finance and Banking (SFB) and Gicumbi.

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