Rwanda’s U18 men’s handball team opened their African Youth Nations Championship campaign with a 33-26 defeat to Morocco in Abidjan on Tuesday.

Morocco dominated the first half, taking a commanding 21-13 lead into the break before Rwanda responded with a much-improved performance after halftime.

Houssam Gartoumi led Morocco’s attack with six goals from six attempts, while Driss Zerhouni added five as the North Africans maintained their advantage.

Rwanda showed greater efficiency after the break, scoring 13 goals while limiting Morocco to 12. However, the eight-goal deficit from the first half proved too difficult to overturn.

James Ndatimana was Rwanda’s top scorer with six goals, while Derrick Cyuza Hirwa added four from four attempts.

Despite the defeat, Rwanda’s second-half response offered encouragement for coach Emmanuel Marwanyshaka, with his side showing greater attacking efficiency and defensive resilience after the interval.

Rwanda will look to bounce back against Libya on Wednesday, knowing that a positive result will be important to keep their Group C campaign on track.