Nigeria under 24 male handball team, on Wednesday, began their IHF Emerging Nations Championship with a defeat against host Bulgaria.
The team led by Coach Solomon Yola knew that the match against the Bulgaria would be a herculean task and still prepared to cause an upset but met a brick wall in the first half which ended 13-11 in favour of the host.
The second half didn’t go as plan for Nigeria despite an improved performance as Bulgaria supported by the home fans at the Palace of Culture and Sports in Varna finished strong to win the match 23-19.
Nigeria will play Azerbaijan on Thursday at 5pm. Azerbaijan had lost their first match to Bulgaria 30-19.