Multi-talented Ratlhogo in seamless transition
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday February 17, 2024 06:00
Over the weekend, she displayed her skills on the netball court, entering a highly contested match between her team, Police, and long-time rivals BDF Cats.
Ratlhogo entered the match as a goal shooter (GS) in the last quarter, containing Cats and securing a crucial win for Police, along with the associated bragging rights.
The player demonstrated her shooting skills and marking abilities against her opponents. In addition to her remarkable achievements in netball, Ratlhogo has excelled in javelin, discus, shot put, hockey, swimming, and captaining a college basketball team.
Raised in a sports-loving family, she developed a passion for various athletic pursuits at an early age. Her mother was a volleyball player, her father a footballer, and her brother, Ricky Ratlhogo, plays for Orapa United. Born in Orapa 19 years ago, Ratlhogo began playing sports at Bathoen I House Primary School in the mining town at the age of six.
“The first sport I did was swimming, then I played netball, softball, hockey, and athletics. In 2016, I was selected for the Northern Botswana Private Schools softball and netball teams,” she said. Upon arriving at Bonnington Junior Secondary School (JSS) in Gaborone, she started participating in shot put and discus. She became a junior national record holder during her first international competition in Zimbabwe.
This competition propelled the young Ratlhogo to further excellence, and she became part of the athletics team that secured gold at the 2019 Confederations of School Sport Association (COSSASA) Games in Swaziland. “I joined the Police netball team at the age of 14 after school sports were suspended. I was recruited by coaches Tshegofatso Monyama and Orapeleng Caiphus Mphotho.
In 2020, at Gaborone Secondary School, I met Letsile Tebogo, who introduced me to the Lefika Athletics Club, and I remain a member of the club,” said the proud athlete. Ratlhogo competed in the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) Junior Games hosted by Zambia last year, where she was ranked number 15 in Africa.
She also captained the AUSC Region 5 Youth Games team that competed in Malawi (2023) and Lesotho (2021). “I resumed netball in 2022, still under Police, where I became the Under-21 team captain. I was promoted to the senior team at the end of 2022, and my debut was during the Top 8 games in Orapa,” said the bubbly Ratlhogo. She is the current BOTESSA shot put, discus, and javelin champion. She led the Institute of Development Management (IDM) Botswana basketball team, which settled for a silver medal at the 2023 BOTESSA Games. Ratlhogo, currently pursuing her BSc in Logistics and Supply Chain Management at IDM, mentioned that she was invited for selection for the netball Africa Cup senior team last year. “I could not attend the trials due to academic commitments. I have been invited for the Under-21 national team final selection tomorrow at BONA courts. I am very excited to have been given the chance to contest for a spot in the Under-21 team. I intend to give it my best shot,” she said. Ratlhogo prefers playing as an attacker (GA) because it is a position that allows her to make more movements on the court. “I mostly enjoy playing against BDF Cats because they are a challenging side.
I enjoy coming up against Keletso Gontho of BDF Cats,” she added.
Ratlhogo described herself as a risk-taker unafraid to try new things. Her mother, Keorapetse, said her child has a God-given talent. “Sport is in our home; we give her all the support she needs. Some competitions are self-sponsored, especially athletics; we cater for that. She never rests; even during school breaks, upon her arrival home in Palapye, she relocates to any club to train.
Tumelo is multi-talented,” she said. Keorapetse added that her daughter grew up playing with boys and has always been a hyper child. They realised she would become an athlete but did not expect her to play almost all sports. “As her parents, we try as much as possible to attend her games. I remember one time her father went to complain at school that she was involved in too many games, but she was in Standard Seven. For her to start throwing shot put, is a funny story; she was dodging the Scripture Union (SU) meeting at school. It was announced that athletics team members should leave, but despite not being part of the team, she left. When she arrived at the ground, the teacher asked her what she was playing; her response was shot put,” she said with laughter. At that point, the athlete was asked to throw a shot put, little did she know that she exceeded the national junior record. The proud mother said her child excels in everything that she touches.
FACT FILE
Full name: Tumelo Emmah Ratlhogo
Date of birth: April 22, 2004
Place of birth: Orapa Home
village: Palapye
Sporting Code: Netball, Javelin, Shot Put, and Basketball
Teams: Police, IDM, and Lefika
Height: 1.77cm
Positions: GA and GS
Role model: Ryan Crouser (American track and field athlete who competes in the shot put and discus. He specialises in the shot put, in which he is a two-time Olympic gold medallist and a two-time World Champion). Shoe size: 7.5 Hand: Right-handed Hobbies: Relaxing at home watching television