Everything he did as a young boy was driven by that dream, and sport became one of the paths he believed could get him to Europe. “To be honest, I never had a strong interest in volleyball at first. It was more of a ‘let’s give it a try and see what happens’; an opportunity introduced by my teacher, Omaatla Maretlwaneng. At the time, I was a full-time track and field athlete, competing in high jump, triple jump, long jump, and 110m hurdles,” he tells MmegiSport.
The 32-year-old says when he first tried volleyball in 2011, it exposed his weaknesses. Sikuku explains that he was not strong enough to hit the ball as hard as he wanted, and that frustrated him. He says because of that, he stepped away from volleyball and focused on track and field again. “Everything changed when I met Odirile 'Driller' Sibanda whilst I was doing Form Five. He introduced me to volleyball on a much deeper level and showed me that there were opportunities to play professionally abroad. “That is when my passion for the sport truly began. He mentored me, believed in me, and registered me to play in the local league in 2014,” he says. Sikuku played his first competitive international tournament at the end of 2015 during the Zone VI Championship. Although he came off the bench, the volleyball player says it was an incredible feeling. He says that moment made him believe that becoming Botswana’s first male professional volleyball player was possible. “I received my first national team call-up in 2015 for the Under 23 team and later earned a place in the senior national team. The journey was not always smooth. My passion and determination often pushed me to take on more than I was ready for, and at times that was misunderstood as a lack of discipline, leading to several setbacks, like being dropped from the national team six times, to be precise,” states Sikuku. Sikuku reveals that at some point, Cuban national team coach Manuel Torres told him during one camp that he brought him to learn not to compete.
