National handball league reigning champions, Police are seeking to retain the title with an unbeaten record after ending the first round with 10 straight wins. The law enforcers’ side leads the table standing with a maximum 30 points from 10 league matches. “We are ready to make history this season, we initially wanted to simply retain the title but it’s more than that now, we want to reclaim it unbeaten. My players are in good shape but most of all, very determined to see that we achieve our target,” Police head coach Antoine Ntabanganya told Times Sport on Thursday. However, for the three-time champions to accomplish the milestone, they will have to overcome ferocious challenge from APR who are also aiming for the league title, according to their coach Anaclet Bagirishya. The 2010 champions APR, who trail Police by two points, recently claimed the Genocide memorial handball tournament after defeating Police 35-33 in semi-finals. As it stands, Police, APR and ES Kigoma occupy top three slots with 30, 28 and 25 points respectively while UR- College of Education with only 8 points are at the bottom of the 11-team league table. Alexis Nshimiyimana of ES Kigoma leads the top-scorers’ chart with 100 goals, Jean Pierre Abayisenga from Inyemeramihigo is second with 71 while Police’s left-back Gilbert Mutuyimana comes in third position with 59. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
