Badminton Battles To Woo Sponsors
Naledi Lemogang | Monday March 20, 2017 16:14
Recently the association held the Botswana Open Badminton Championship where winners were awarded P15,200 in prize money. BBA public relations officer, Modisaotsile Badubi said they face a difficult time trying to attract sponsors. He said they hope that their appearance in the All Africa Senior Championship will raise awareness about the sport, potentially attracting sponsors on board.
Ten athletes, five from each of the women and men’s sections, will represent the country at the continental tournament, which takes place in Pretoria. The BBA technical team led by the association’s vice president-technical, Mmoloki Motlhala and head coach Oreeditse Thela selected the team. “Thela will lead the side.
He has been sent to various coaching clinics both local and abroad to enhance his skills,” Badube said. He said they hope to improve on their last performance where Gaone Tawana got bronze in the men’s singles. This saw Tawana shooting to number three in Africa.
However, as a team, Botswana did not make it out of the group stages. The technical team has scheduled a series of fortnight training camps to prepare the team ahead of the South Africa tournament in order to improve the team’s performance. “The team will also be in camp for the final week prior to leaving for South Africa.”
The competition is open to all African states that are duly recognised as members of the Badminton Confederation of Africa as well as Badminton World Federation. The event is held once every two years but was not held in 2016, as it was an Olympic year.
Selected team:
Men: Tumisang Olekantse, Gaone Tawana, Tlholego Chamo, Tefo Kabomo, Tlamelang Kepaletswe.
Women: Tebogo Ndzinge, Leungo Tsweneetsile, Tessa Kabelo, Botho Makubate, Bonolo Amos.