Diteemane, as the national table tennis team is known, held its selection tournament at the Babusi Hall in Gaborone last month. The process was meant to select four players to join the Diteemane squad for the AUSC Region V Championship to be held in June, and also the Senior Africa Championships scheduled for later this year. The previous weekend's national team selections had omitted Tshepiso Rebatenne and Bakang Maloka by virtue of them being the top-ranked players in the female and male sections respectively. Speaking to MmegiSport this week, Mosarwe said 73 players were put through a rigorous selection process vying for the two Diteemane slots in each gender group. Mosarwe highlighted that the 73 trialists represent a slight drop compared to the previous year. "The 73 participants who attended the selections were less (in number) than players who were there last year. This is in preparation for the AUSC Region V in June and Senior Championships on a date to be set," Mosarwe said.
He did not provide last year's figures. The selection process was an intense battle for national team spots as players gave their all at the only opportunity to be part of the 2025 Diteemane squad. BDF Table Tennis Club (TTC) duo of Salome Matlhatsi and Constance Kuswani secured places in the team after finishing as the best players in the women's category whilst Boago Malobela of Smash Maniacs TTC and Thobo Matlhatsi of BDF TTC made it from the men's side. The selection saw the return of familiar faces to the Diteemane squad as the quartet retained their spots in the team. Matlhatsi (Salome) and Kuswani are new entrants whilst Malobela and Thobo maintained their spots. Mosarwe further said the BTTA is yet to appoint the technical team to lead the national team for the year 2025 but he indicated that the coach could come from BDF TTC. "As per tradition, the coach is usually selected from the club with the dominant representation, making BDF TTC the likely choice.The official announcement regarding the coaching staff is expected soon," he said.
In two weeks, the BTTA will host the BTTA Feeder Series, the Nhabe Open and youngsters will look to make an impression early on in the season.
