Namibia ended eighth overall at the Fistball World Championships in Germany after losing their last match in the seventh and eighth playoff 2-0 (20:14, 20:12) to Italy on Sunday.
â??It was a huge disappointment for us as our goal was to finish fifth or sixth," national coach Harald Fulle said.
"In the important games, the team was not able to perform to their abilities, and they were not mentally strong enough,â? he added.
On Saturday, Namibia lost 2-0 to Chile (14:20, 17:20), while they lost to the host nation Germany 2-0 (15:20, 11:20) last Friday. Earlier last week on August 9, Namibia suffered two defeats at the hands of Austria and Brazil, losing 2-0 to both nations. Austria beat Namibia (20:7, 20:9), while Brazil easily eliminated Namibia (20:3, 20:4).
The Namibians also failed to live up to their expectations in their earlier matches on August 8, as they went down 2-0 to Switzerland and Argentina. Switzerland beat Namibia (11:20, 16:20), while Argentina beat Namibia (8:20, 18:20).
Austria win championships
Austria won the world title for the first time after beating defending world champions, Brazil, 3-0 (20:15, 20:8, 20:11) on Sunday. Austria also finished as the top-ranked side, followed by Brazil and Germany in second and third places respectively.