Bowls team targets medals at AST tourney
Calistus Kolantsho | Friday September 8, 2017 15:16
Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe will also take part. However, Swaziland and Malawi women’s teams will not take part in the tournament. The AST is played in four disciplines, the singles, pairs, triples and fours for both men and women.
Botswana Bowling Association (BBA) spokesperson, John Gaborutwe told Mmegi Sport before departure that the team has been preparing well for the tournament. He said the team underwent thorough technical assessments with a few practice matches against a local select side. He said the team was selected in June and in August they had two practice matches.
“We had a little setback when our player who was skipping the men’s trips team, Dicks Senn, withdrew. He was playing third for the fours team, but due to other commitments he had to drop out at the last minute. The team had to be reshuffled,” he said.
Gaborutwe, however feels they still have a strong team capable of winning medals. He said in the past two years they have been bringing medals from different disciplines. Gaborutwe said in the past, AST was used as a qualifying tournament but the World Bowls has since rearranged their qualifying criteria. He said that means the regional tournament is no longer a qualifier for any international championships. He said they are hopeful that through the bowlers’ performance at the AST, organisations like Botswana National Olympic Committee (BNOC) could consider them for participation in the Commonwealth Games. He said the key thing is to be African champions.
“The wish was to have many practice matches but funding was a challenge. We are going there to play against South Africa who have been champions for many years,” Gaborutwe said.
Meanwhile, the women’s team manager, Binkie Gaborutwe said the current team is the best since 2009 when Botswana finished in the top three and qualified for the Commonwealth Games held in Delhi 2010 and World Championships in Australia in 2012. The men’s team manager, Reid Regent said the men’s side recent performance has been relatively good as they won bronze medal in Lusaka, Zambia in 2015 in the men’s singles and another bronze in the men’s triples in Harare, Zimbabwe in 2016.
The teams:
Men: Singles: John Gaborutwe, Pairs: Kitso Robert and Edwin Nyoka, Trips: Kabo Gaboutloeloe, Charles Diteko, Gaborutwe, Fours: Robert, Gaboutloeloe, Diteko and Nyoka. Coach: Jane Mitchell.
Women: Singles: Tirelo Buckley. Pairs: Obopile Ashby and Marea Modutlwa. Trips: Buckley, Gasegarona Pabalelo, Chakale Robert.
Fours: Ashby, Pabalelo, Modutlwa and Chakale Robert.
Coach: Elandri Collington.