Meshack Motloung

Meshack Motloung

The South African Handball Federation makes its debut when it hosts the Zone Six Trophy Challenge at the High-Performance Centre in Pretoria from November 19-26.

The seven-day tournament, that will be contested by the under-25 men, is for developing countries in the sport.

SAHF general secretary Ali Pole said: "We have selected one of the best squads in the country and we hope that they will do well in this event.

"Despite the fact that our boys will be taking part for the first time in this tournament, they have been doing well in their respective teams and we hope they will make us proud.

"We've appointed Shaun [Mokhine] as head coach and Mlamli [Figlan] as his assistant. The two have shown some enthusiasm and commitment to the team and we hope that they will take the team to a new level in the game."

Mokhine said the team has not played against other sides since its selection.

"We'll be going to the training camp a week before the tournament starts and it's where we'll see how they perform as a team. We'll be playing against countries that compete with other top handball countries more often than us. Most are highly experienced and are good in the air because of their height.

"But our players, short as they are, are very fast, and stand a chance of beating some of their opponents," said Mokhine.

Mozambique, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, Lesotho have confirmed their participation .