As the medal hunt continues at the ongoing African Games in Accra, Ghana, the men’s beach volleyball team has qualified for the quarterfinals to be played on Thursday.
The team, comprised of George Chiswaniso and Jack Sekao, defeated Egypt 2-0 in the first match. Botswana won the first set 21-12 and then secured the second set 21-17. The duo went on to beat the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) 2-0 in the second match. Sekao and Chiswaniso claimed the first set 21-13 and the second 21-12. Their coach, Kabelo Marumo, said they started the competition on a positive note. “I am happy about the way we started the competition. The team is in fine form. They are showing that they can fight. Pound-for-pound we are on the same level as our opponents, although we were regarded as underdogs when we arrived here,” he said.
For his part, Chiswaniso said they outclassed Egypt in the first set, but the second set was difficult due to the extreme heat. Botswana has won three bronze medals; two from the women's karate team and one from swimming. On Monday, chess player FIDE Master Gomolemo Rongwane accumulated four points from one loss, two draws, and three wins out of six rounds. In the women’s section, Woman Candidate Master (WCM) Natalie Banda secured three points out of six points. Banda won two games, two draws, and two losses. Weightlifter Alphius Kagiso makes his debut on today. His coach, Alex Rankgwe, told MmegiSport that Kagiso was doing well but struggling with humidity.
“The weather conditions forced us to change our training schedule to the morning. We are trying different things in terms of training and planning for the competition. Today we are going to do reverse training for strength to technique to see how the body reacts because we cannot separate them,” Rankgwe said. Meanwhile, it has been tough in the pool for Andile Bekker after he finished in position seven with a time of 4:21.61 in the men’s 400m freestyle final.
