Softball Team In Tricky Olympic Qualifiers
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday February 11, 2019 13:32
The African qualifiers would be held in Atteridgeville, South Africa in May 2019. The two countries will join six European countries to fight for one slot.
“We currently do not have a coach for the senior women as the team has not been assembled yet since Chiba, Japan where they competed in the women’s championship,” Botswana Softball Association (BSA) spokesperson, Kelebogile Seitei said.
The Africa/Europe qualification event would be an eight-sided tournament, where the winner would earn a place at Tokyo 2020.
According to a statement from WBSC, competing in the qualifier would be top six finishers from the European softball championship 2019 and the top two teams from the African softball championship 2019.
Meanwhile, BSA is hosting a team from Chukyo University from Japan. The team is conducting technical clinics across the country. The clinics started in Good Hope. The team is travelling to Masunga (February 11-14) and move to Maun where the training would be conducted from February 17 until 18.
The last technical clinic is scheduled for Gaborone from February 21 until 22. The team would play friendly games at the National Diamond against Botswana and South Africa.
Speaking during a media briefing last week, Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) resident representative, Ken Yamada said his country has supported the BSA grassroots programme by dispatching a team from Chukyo University since 2018.
BSA president, Thabo Thamane said the team that visited last year, spent time at schools of excellence in Masunga and Good Hope. Thamane said the partnership between Chukyo University and BSA is a journey.
“Success is not an overnight thing. It takes time. But we have started to see change in the style of play by our players. There has also been improvement in the technical aspects of the game,” he said.
For his part, Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) chief executive officer (CEO), Tuelo Serufho said the visiting team would play a pivotal role as the women’s team attempts to qualify for Olympics. “We have been to the Olympics many times, but we have never had a team sport representation or at the Commonwealth Games,” he said.