Accra, Oct. 17, GNA - Benin defeated Ghana by 26 goals to 22 in the finals to win the Second Annual Ghana France Co-operation West African Handball Championship which ended at the Prisons Sports Complex in Accra on Saturday.

Parading stalwart stars, Benin who had earlier on beaten Togo, took over control of the game from the beginning pinning the Ghanaians into their own half and ended the first half with 17 goals to 10 in their favour.

Ghana, who also beat Togo in the opening match, resumed the second half with determination and managed to score 12 goals as against nine by the Benin side but that was not enough to win them the match. Ghana however managed to win the Ladies event with six points by beating both Togo and Benin while Benin had three points by beating Togo.

Mr Joe Aggrey, Deputy Minister for Education, Youth and Sports said the ministry would do everything possible to ensure that the handball is developed into an international level.

He said as part of the developmental programme, a multi-purpose sports hall would soon be built for all the lesser-known sports and called for support from corporate bodies to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

Mr Benson Baba, Chairman of the Handball Association of Ghana (HAG) said next year, the competition would be expanded to ensure the participation of more African countries.