Jamaica's Under-21 netballer Afrika Morris (right), along with teammate Sasha-Gaye Lynch, arrived with the rest of the team at the Norman Manley International Airport from the World Youth Netball Championships in Cook Islands yesterday. The junior Sunshine Girls defeated England 48-42 to win the bronze medal. - contributed

C. Lloyd Walker, coach of Jamaica's Under-21 team, which captured bronze at this year's World Youth Netball Championships in the Cook Islands, is proud of the team's accomplishments despite its failure to win gold.

"We had promise that we would be coming back home with a medal and I think that we dug deep and we fought very hard against England," Walker told The Gleaner in an interview following the team's arrival at the Norman Manley International Airport yesterday.

The junior Sunshine Girls captured the bronze medal by defeating arch-rivals England 48-42 in the third-place play-off.

Australia won the gold medal by defeating defending champions New Zealand. The Jamaicans were beaten by the New Zealand in the semi-final, but according to Walker, the girls tried their best.

"I am very pleased with the performance of the team because we have had some hitches here and there and we have had some unforced errors and at crucial points in the tournament, but I am very proud of their achievements," he said.

Walker added that the tournament proved to be an eye-opener for the girls because they have learnt a lot from it.

"I don't think that we were prepared for the Oceanic type of netball and this resulted in us losing our semi-final game to New Zealand," Walker said.

"I think that we should see continuity from a few of them and I am hoping that they will be able to move into the senior team."

Jamaica ace goal shooter Romelda Aiken did not arrived with team yesterday, as she along with senior team member Althea Byfield have gone off to Australia to play in the Holden Netball Test Series, which also involves players from New Zealand.