Lelatisitswe: Reluctant paddler spins shade into gold

Friday, February 27, 2026 | 60 Views |

She picked up a table tennis paddle to escape the scorching Boteti sun. Today, Emmah Lelatisitswe is the newest Phoenix Assurance Super League champion, national team player, coach, and PhD economist, proving that sometimes, destiny finds you in the most unlikely places, writes MmegiSport Correspondent, KABELO BORANABI

It was 2011 at Mopipi Junior Secondary School, and like every afternoon in Boteti, the heat was unforgiving. Learners were pushed onto dusty grounds for sport, but Lelatisitswe wanted no part of it.

Football and athletics meant running under a relentless sky; instead, she chose shade. “I never had any intention of joining sports,” she admits. “I was just too lazy to be running around in that heat.”

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