Though the Botswana team failed to make the cut, national champion Tshepiso Lopang atoned for this by scooping bronze in the individual category.
Due to the low turnout in the women competition, the tournament was played on a double round-robin basis. Botswana started the games well, beating Libya 4-0 in the opening round and then holding favourites Algeria to a draw. Defeats to Nigeria and then South Africa pushed Botswana down. But a draw against Egypt in the final matches of the first round saw the country rise to joint third position.
The second set of games proved too difficult for the Botswana women. They managed to beat Libya 3-1, but a painful 4-0 loss to Algeria saw medal hopes begin to fade. The situation was worsened by heavy defeats to both Nigeria and South Africa with scores of 3-1 and 3.5-0.5 respectively. A 3-1 last round win over Egypt could not repair the damage that had been done as Algeria, South Africa and Nigeria were already far ahead.
In the men's section, the Egyptians had a field day as they proved stronger than any of their rivals.
