Lesotho coach praises Botswana's tennis development

MQONDISI DUBE
Staff Writer | Tuesday August 31, 2010 00:00

However, he did not want to get carried away by the good performance, saying that host Botswana was missing key players who were away on national duty in Mauritius.

'I still regard both countries as at par in terms of performance. I understand Botswana was missing several players who are in Mauritius,' he said. Lesotho were brutally dominant in the Under-14 and Under-18 categories, sweeping the board in the singles and doubles. It emerged the best team ahead of Gaborone and Molepolole while Francistown got the wooden spoon.

Sekhobe brought 12 players who were largely inexperienced but left the Notwane courts a satisfied man after his charges put up a commanding performance during the week-long competition. 'I am happy with what I saw. I brought players from different age groups and most of them have not been exposed at international level.

The tournament helped them gain exposure,' Moshoeshoe said. He stated that Lesotho is showing improvement in tennis but lack of finance hampers progress. He praised Botswana saying it has a promising future in tennis with a number of young players coming up.

'During the Botswana Open early this year, we saw a number of promising young players. It is in tournaments such as Electric Junction that we see talent blossom. The number of tournaments Botswana is hosting stands as testimony that the country is investing in development,' Moshoeshoe said.

Botswana proved that it has depth in talent when its youngsters posted a largely impressive show in the Electric Junction tournament despite finishing behind Lesotho.

Under-10 players, Mitchell Mosiyandiwa, Tsholofelo and Tshegofatso Tsiang  and Kambeu Taputswa were particularly outstanding. In other age groups, Lesotho enjoyed the upper hand. Mosebi Bishop and Batsamai Paseka from the tiny mountain kingdom contested a pulsating Under-18 boys' final, with the latter emerging victorious. Despite a powerful serve, Bishop was wayward and committed a lot of unforced errors while accuracy carried the day for Paseka.