Darts team target gold in Namibia
Koketso Kgoboge | Friday August 23, 2019 11:31
The squad is made up of 19 players, all under 18 years of age. They will represent the country in the Under-15 and Under-18 sections, where Botswana will field two teams in each category. Botswana aims to go one better after finishing second overall behind hosts South Africa, in Germiston in the 2017 edition.
The Under-15 team had claimed eight medals with five gold, two silver and a bronze. The team was crowned the best in the category. The Under-18 side managed three bronze medals and overall, saw Botswana finish second.
Four boys and two girls have since graduated from the golden Under-15 team. The six players would be turning out for the Under-18 when competition resumes at Walvis Bay next Tuesday. Botswana has dominated the junior section for a number of years and the Botswana Darts Association (BODA) is confident the young troops would not disappoint.
The team has been on a seven-day camp in Gaborone. BODA spokesperson, Neo Badubi is optimistic the nation would finish first. He said competition for places was high in camp. After seeing his players graduate to the Under-18 side, Badubi believes they carry experience that could earn the nation gold medals in the category and the overall winner’s trophy.
Amongst the crop, he singled out Thatayotlhe Robert who started playing the game at the age of nine. Robert, now 16, has raked gold in all the tournaments he has participated in. He is amongst the outstanding players in the local northern darts league. A Form Five student at Shashe River School, Robert would be playing his last youth tournament. He is expected to make a seamless transition to the senior national team.
“This year we have the best combination of young players for both categories. Our power base remains the Under-15 teams, and we have the best players that graduated to the Under-18 side. They make us confident on our top position target,” Badubi told Mmegi Sport.
He said the Under-18 side struggled in the past due to lack of local league competition as compared to countries like South Africa and Namibia where the sport has made great strides.
“We tried keeping our players active every year since they returned from the past tournament and we believe they have better experience. They have faired well against senior players in the leagues and the confidence has grown remarkably.”
Badubi added they were still struggling to take the sport code to the people across the country due to a shoestring budget. He admitted they still had a lot of work to do to promote the sport in the country.
“Even some parents to our national team players need to be convinced that their children are exceptional players in a great sport. We are still working hard to convince the nation that darts is a sport code, not a barcode,” he said.