Menzi Magubane
Barbara Banda has already made history. The Zambian women’s football team captain is the first woman to ever score back-to-back hat-tricks at the Olympic Games.
They were outclassed by a strong Netherlands team who beat them 10-3 in the opening match on Wednesday, their worst defeat to date.
But all of that was overshadowed by Banda’s performance after scoring three goals. She became the first player to score for Zambia in the Olympics and also the first African player to net a hat-trick in these games.
The 21-year-old continued with her scoring form against China on Saturday. The Copper Queens were 3-1 down going to the interval and the skipper took it upon herself to inspire her team back into the game that looked beyond their reach.
She scored yet another hat-trick to earn her team a valuable point in a match that ended 4-4.
“There was a lot of improvement against China. I like the team spirit we have,” Banda told FIFA.com after their match against China.
The Shanghai Shengli attacker is currently a joint leading goalscorer with Vivianne Miedema of Netherlands. They also equalled Christine Sinclair’s record of six goals she scored in the London 2012 Olympics.
Next up for Banda is the last match of the group on Tuesday against Brazil.
“It’s the first time in a big competition for most of the girls. We have a strong feeling that we can do something in the third match against Brazil. We want the three points,” she said.
A draw against China meant that Zambia are still alive in the competition and maximum points on Tuesday will see them going to the knockouts but Banda still has ambitions for Tokyo 2020.
“I am aiming to become the best footballer in the world.”
Another goal would give her the unlikely status of being the highest scorer in a single tournament.
Picture source:@fifa.com
