Slow Start For Botswana At AYG
Calistus Kolantsho | Monday July 23, 2018 12:55
Magdelene Moyengwa won the medals in the 58kg category. Weightlifting coach, Alex Rankgwe said it is a big achievement for Moyengwa. He said he has been training her for the past three years.
“We only trained during the weekends because she stays in Mogoditshane and it was difficult for her to attend training at the National Stadium after school. She is excited and looking forward to the Youth Olympics,” he said.
Rankgwe said Moyengwa has competed in all qualifiers and she is ranked in the top three, which means she stands a chance of getting a wild card for the Youth Olympics.
“The problem with weightlifting is that in order to qualify even if you are in the top three, you must bring a full team, but with us we do not have money to do that,” he said. Beach volleyball boys lost their matches against Cameroon (2-1) on day two. The indoor volleyball girls were beaten 3-0 by Algeria. On day three, indoor volleyball girls lost 3-0 against DRC. Beach volleyball boys lost 2-0 to Gambia.
Individual events for table tennis saw Tshepang Motlhamme finishing in position 11 while Phetso Jack scooped position 10 out of 24 participants.
Volleyball coach, Kabelo Marumo said his players are trying, but it is not easy. He said their opponents have been playing beach volleyball for some time and Botswana players had stage fright.
“They are not far from us and we put up a brave fight. With more games, we are going to be tough to beat. Egypt and Sierra Leone landed here from the World Junior Championship in China. Playing against them is a positive thing because it gives us a chance to gauge ourselves,” Marumo said.
He said as coaches the AYG is an eye-opener. He said the African Volleyball Confederation (CAVB) is assisting with workshops after matches.
“I wish we had more than one coach like other countries, unfortunately I am alone here. I am a coach and team manager. I might end up missing out on some important aspects of the game,” he said.