Ketlhabanetswe bonds with the racquet
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday February 23, 2026 06:59
But in the midst of that silence, the sport code is producing some of the finest players and administrators who are also pushing their mandate across Africa. Amongst this crop of rising players is Godknows Ketlhabanetswe, who has found a bond with the racquet and has a special way of hitting a shuttlecock over the net.
Born in Tutume in the North East district, he started playing badminton at nine. The 25-year-old is the top-seeded player in the country and the best player in singles. “I grew up staying at Shanganano Junior Secondary School teacher’s quarters in Sebina, where my mother was a teacher,' he explained
“Every time I was home, I could see some students in the hall practising. Together with my siblings, we got curious and decided to see what was being done, only to find some students playing badminton.' 'The coach was welcoming as he handed us some racquets to try out. At nine years old, I was one of the promising footballers, but the only problem with football was that the practice fields were far from where I was staying. That meant I spent my time visiting the school hall,” he added. Ketlhabanetswe said he practised badminton with players older than him from junior secondary school, whilst he was a primary school pupil.
According to the player, he did not choose badminton but just went there for leisure until coach Lesego Moses believed that he was good enough to compete.
“Moses introduced me to the sport. He was a very patient man and a teacher at Shanganano. I started competing when I was 11 years old, only for exposure.
“Every loss I encountered pushed me as I took it personally, and that made me train more as I did not want to lose to any one of my age mates,' he said.
His first big win came in 2015 when he got two gold medals in the singles and doubles, as well as a silver medal in the mixed doubles, during the Botswana Integrated Sports Association (BISA) Games. 'From then on, I knew I had to defend my gold medals for as long as I played the BISA games,” Ketlhabanetswe added. He was selected for the Under-18 national team in 2016 for a competition that was held in South Africa.
Since then, he had to work hard to keep his national team spot. Ketlhabanetswe said for anyone interested in playing badminton, it is never too early or too late to start and discipline and consistency are the keys to everything. “Playing sports in Botswana is a challenge on its own. Firstly, we face challenges when it comes to funds and equipment. Some of the challenges are that most of us who are in the national team stay away from Gaborone, and usually it becomes difficult to train properly and end up with most of the training being physical training.”
He said badminton is not given the support it deserves, and most people do not know what the sport is all about. During the recent All Africa Championships held at the Royal Aria in Tlokweng, Ketlhabanetswe was eliminated in the second round. “But performance-wise, I believe there was so much improvement in the team, and it was very unfortunate that we faced stronger opponents,' he said.
Ketlhabanetswe is under the tutelage of coach, Oreedutse Thela, who is also the senior national team coach. For his part, Thela said if the player is given more training and exposure, he will bring silverware to the country.
FACT FILE
Full Name: Godknows Ketlhabanetswe
Date of birth: August 22, 2001
Place of birth: Tutume
Profession: Badminton player
Club: Gaborone Club
Play: Right-handed
Motto: Discipline, health, resilience, and leadership
Hobbies: Football and board games