Botswana Teams doing well at AAG, Commonwealth Games

Kabelo Boranabi | Wednesday September 9, 2015 18:00

Karabo Sibanda of Botswana celebrates after winning the Boys 400 metres final at the Samoa 2015 Commonwealth Youth Games. PIC: Scott BARBOUR/ GETTY IMAGES

Botswana has collected five medals in both competitions so far.

The local karatekas have been doing well in AAG with Lame Hetanang and Thato Malunga winning silver and bronze medals in the 50kg and 55kg of the women’s Kumite categories respectively.

Ofentse Bakwadi also won a bronze medal in the individual Kata. Africa Youth Games (AYG) silver medalist, Naomi Ruele got a silver medal in the 50m of the backstroke event while another swimmer Bonita Imsirovic has also qualified for the finals of the 200m breaststroke final. The only gold medal the country got so far came from the Samoa games, with Karabo Sibanda winning the 400m with a time of 45.83 seconds.

Sibanda broke his personal best and the national junior record of 46.03 seconds. This is the first time he has gone under the 46 seconds mark. Yesterday, swimmer David Van Der Colff finished in the sixth position of the men’s 50m backstroke final.

Today, 200m sprinters Thabiso Sekgopi and Aobakwe Malau will participate in the semi-final of the event. The duo ran their personal best times of 21.22 seconds and 21.45 seconds respectively in the heats. Sekgopi will face stiff competition from 100m gold medalist Tlotliso Gift Lesotlela of South Africa and England’s Michael Bentley who scooped second place in 100m event. In the other semi-final, Malau will take on Scottish, Cameron Tindle who scooped a bronze medal in the 100m race.

Kgalalelo Tlalanyane will be gunning for a place in the medal podium, as she will be competing in the women’s 100m hurdles. Tlalanyane finished in fourth position with a personal time of 15.06 seconds in the heats.

She will have to be wary of England’s Alicia Barrett and South African Taylon Bieldt, who finished in the event’s best times of 13.11 seconds respectively.

Thandi Uerimuna goes in to the 800m final as one of the favourites to scoop the title while Refilwe Murangi will have a mammoth task in the semi-final of the women’s 200m as she faces Lucy Sheat of New Zealand and Deophister Chongho of Zambia. The duo outran Murangi in the fourth heat of the race.

Following Kutlwano Ofetotse’s defeat to James McGivern of Northern Ireland in the quarter finals of the 64kg, AYG gold medalist Rajab Otukile Mohammed carries the nation’s title hopes when he faces India’s Leichombam Bhimchand in the semi finals of the 49kg bout.