Namibia show promise despite defeats at World Skate Championships
Namibia’s senior men’s inline hockey team opened their World Skate Championships campaign with an emphatic 8-0 victory over Switzerland on Sunday, 11 October, but suffered consecutive defeats against the United States and Slovakia.
Competing in Group A, Namibia were initially scheduled to face Slovakia in their opening match, but a late schedule change saw them take on Switzerland after an earthquake disrupted the Slovak team’s travel plans.
The Namibians adapted well, producing a dominant performance against a Swiss side they had lost to in 2024. Amandus Röttcher led the scoring with a hat-trick and an assist, while Christiaan Coetzee contributed a goal and two assists. JW Coetzee provided three assists, with Sean Liechti, Vigo Bajorat, Josua Zeferinu and Alex Wirtz also finding the net.
Six different players scored, while both Namibian goalkeepers recorded clean sheets in their respective halves. Zeferinu was named the most valuable player after recording his first senior men’s shutout. Bajorat and Zeferinu also celebrated their first goals for Namibia’s senior men’s team.
Namibia later faced the United States on Sunday, suffering a 5-1 defeat after conceding twice in the opening three minutes.
Röttcher scored Namibia’s only goal, keeping the team in contention at 3-1 for much of the match. However, penalty trouble allowed the Americans to extend their advantage before a late goal sealed the result. Bajorat was named Namibia’s most valuable player.
Despite the loss, Namibia took encouragement from reportedly outshooting the United States over the full 40 minutes for the first time.
On Monday, 12 October, Namibia suffered another narrow defeat, going down 4-3 to Slovakia after once again conceding twice in the opening three minutes.
Wim van der Plas sparked the comeback with an impressive end-to-end goal before scoring again, assisted by Max Finkeldey, to make it 4-2. Finkeldey then converted a rebound from van der Plas’s shot to reduce the deficit to one goal.
Namibia pushed hard for an equaliser in the closing minutes but could not find the breakthrough.
Van der Plas finished with two goals and an assist and was named most valuable player. Finkeldey recorded a goal and an assist, while Alex Wirtz contributed an assist.
Namibia will look to improve their starts and reduce penalty trouble as they seek to bounce back in the remainder of the World Skate Championships.
Editor’s note: This article was prepared before Namibia’s Group A match against the United States on Tuesday, 13 October, at 17:30 Namibian time.
