Gaasite wins as Montsho goes into action tonight

FREDERICK KEBADIRETSE
Staff Writer | Wednesday October 6, 2010 00:00

 

Gaasite proceeded to the next round through a Referee Stopped Contest (RSC) decision, a minute and 40 seconds into the first round of his bout against Saint Lucian Thomas Melville in the light welterweight division. The Botswana boxer was leading 4-1 on points when the contest was stopped.

Meanwhile, the nation's main athletics star at the Commonwealth, Amantle Montsho will be in action tonight at the main Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in New Delhi. The 400-metre runner was the country's flag bearer at the official opening ceremony on Sunday. She will compete in the heats tonight amid high expectations from the nation following a disappointing start by other athletes.

Montsho has never disappointed in high profile competitions and her vast experience should see her proceed to the finals.

The 2008 Olympic finalist will enter the heats with renewed confidence after reigning supreme again in Africa last month. The 27-year-old is at the peak of her career. She is in good physical condition as she recorded a time of 49.89 seconds last month, only 0.06 seconds short of her personal best clocked at the African Championships in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia two seasons back.

Montsho has always performed well only to falter at crucial stages as she did in the Beijing 2008 Olympic final.Pundits have often blamed this on stage fright, which should not be a problem to an experienced athlete like her. Montsho has said that this time around, she is psyched up to compete without suffering any jitters if she reaches the finals.

She showed her mettle in the Diamond League in Europe where she came against some of the world's best athletes. Local sports enthusiasts can watch Montsho on Supersport tonight. As the games enter the third day today, only Gaasite has recorded a win for Botswana. The squash and bowls teams lost on the opening day of the games on Monday.