Netball squad ready for World Cup qualifiers
Thato Kala | Friday September 12, 2014 11:28
The other countries vying for the two of the four African slots in the World Cup are Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Uganda, Tanzania and Swaziland. Malawi and South Africa automatically qualify by virtue of finishing in the top six in the last edition in Singapore in 2011.
Hosts Australia, New Zealand, England and Jamaica also have their automatic places.
The remaining 10 teams will be determined in regional qualifying tournaments.
Two teams will be selected from each of the five international netball regions Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.
In the African qualifiers, Botswana face tough opposition from Tanzania and Uganda. Botswana captain, Portia Rasekhumba has said they fear no one ahead of the campaign. She believes they have prepared well for the qualifiers. The national team took part in the six-week Super Stars tournament as Team BONA and won all its games.
“I believe we are prepared because we have been correcting the mistakes we saw over the weekend when we played the Super Stars finals,” Rasekhumba told Mmegi Sport. They start the campaign with a tie against Zimbabwe on Sunday afternoon at 2pm.
After losing to Zimbabwe last year, one of the Botswana players, Hilda Binang said there will be no repeat. “We are too prepared for the tournament. We are not afraid of Zimbabwe, and I can assure the nation that this time round, they will not beat us,” she said. She believes they have a stronger and more prepared team this time.
“There is a huge change in our team, we are stronger this time and we have a few other additions to the team,” she added.
Rasekhumba echoed the same sentiments and called on Batswana to come in large numbers to rally behind the team.
A new format is likely to be used in the qualifiers after Kenya’s pull out.
The teams would have been drawn into two groups of four, but now that they are seven, a round robin system may be used.
Botswana seeks a return to the World Cup after taking part in the last tournament in 2011.
Outstanding players of the last campaign like Radipotsane, Tebogo Radipotsane and Tumisang Bagidi are expected to lead the charge again. Binang and Bagidi are likely compete for the goal attack place while the hardworking Gagotheko Tshelametsi looks likely to start at centre. Francinah Eyman may start in defence.