Sibanda ruled out of Zimbabwe trip
Calistus Kolantsho | Wednesday June 7, 2017 17:38
The competition starts on Saturday and ends on Sunday.Sibanda was part of the 4x400m team together with Onkabetse Nkobolo, Gaone Maotoanong, Baboloki Thebe and Pako Seribe. Sibanda’s coach, Mogomotsi Otsetswe said yesterday arrangements for him (Sibanda) to travel to Italy for medical attention are ongoing. He said the challenge has been visa delays and Sibanda is expected to get a new passport.
“His passport is left with a few pages and it is advisable for him to get a new one. Despite that, he is recovering well and has started jogging. I expect him to start competing next month,” Otsetswe said. The athlete pulled a hamstring during the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Diamond League meet held a fortnight ago in Eugene, United States of America.
For his part, Botswana Athletics Association spokesperson, Ipolokeng Ramatshaba said they are aware of Sibanda’s injury. He said Otsetswe is always updating the association on the state of the athlete. Regarding his inclusion in the team, Ramatshaba said the procedure is for all athletes in the national team to be included in the list and they can only be removed if they are injured or could not make the team due to various circumstances. “When an athlete is injured he or she is removed from the team and replaced. But in Sibanda’s case, we are not going to replace him. We are going to remove the 4x400m relay team all together. We have also been advised to reduce the number of athletes that we are taking to Harare,” he said. Ramatshaba said at the moment, the team comprises 13 women and 28 men. He said the arrangement is to send a team of 25 athletes. He said the cut down of the team will be done by the technical team depending on various factors depending on performance amongst others.