The team went on to win three silver medals through Katso Molefe (Bocce), Anitah Nthwesane (long jump) and the men’s volleyball team. The mixed Bocce team of Molefe and Onneng brought home a bronze medal. The Special Olympics Botswana President, Ross Tebele told Sport Monitor that the team will be arriving back home tomorrow (Tuesday) by bus from Johannesburg.
Tebele said preparations for the World Games were not enough because the athletes were not allowed to participate in sport until August 2022. “We had to make a plea to the Ministry of Education for our athletes to start training. Remember the two years hiatus that sport was not played due to the strict Covid-19 rules.
The team was assembled in November and time was not on our side as December holidays arrived while we were busy with preparations,” Tebele said. He said despite that, upon return from the festive season break, training resumed. He said this was a big stage and everything had to be in place. Tebele also said travelling to the World Games meant they had to learn how things are done in the first world. “We learnt that hard work should be instilled in athletes so that when national team selection is done, everyone is in good shape. As an association, we should have a budget for a psychologist to accompany the team during such games.
Our women’s volleyball team had a breakdown when two of them got injured. The remaining team members had to play many games and the morale was no longer there,” Tebele said. Meanwhile, Tebele said he was impressed with the general performance of the team especially in Bocce, which is a new addition.
