Discontent over karate team selection
Calistus Kolantsho | Saturday March 9, 2024 06:44
Karate was initially excluded from the travelling party, but on Monday the code was included for the 13th edition of the African Games. Athletics, basketball, beach volleyball, boxing, judo, swimming, taekwondo, tennis, and weightlifting were the codes that were on the initial list.
Last week when the Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) announced the African Games team, karate was not on the list. Karate team manager, China Metswi told MmegiSport that he was informed that karate has been included in the team on Monday. “The BNSC decided to bring us on board.
I was requested to make calls to athletes and make up a team. I had to act fast and select those who did well during the Botswana Karate Association (BOKA) national team selection. The challenge is that we travelled without having gone through a training camp,” he said. However, some parents felt that the selection was not fairly done. A concerned parent, Kesolofetse Madibela, who is also the manager of SSKB Karate Club, said he was unhappy about how the selection was conducted. “It is not proper for BOKA to select athletes who lost in the last tournament, leaving behind winners.
They should tell us how they arrived at this conclusion. The challenge we have is that the BOKA leadership never listens to anybody,” he said. Madibela revealed that last year BOKA denied his child, Louis an opportunity to represent the country or to benefit from the BNSC Elite Scholarship. He said he plans to raise his complaints with the BNSC because it seems like the BOKA leadership does not appreciate the investment that parents make in their children. The team that travelled to Accra comprised Quinton Mosupiemang, Kao Nsala, Lethabo Sekano, Lesego Masimola and Amantle Leburu. BOKA president, Mpho Bakwadi said it was not easy to include karate in the African Games team.
“It is a story for another day. We did not even attend the send-off ceremony,” he said. BNSC marketing and communications manager, Anderson Nlisana told MmegiSport that karate has been included after the Commission engaged the National Sport Associations (NSA) that were initially excluded.
“Where we think we can beef up the team that goes to Ghana, we will do that. It is not a last-minute decision, we have been engaged with them since preparations for the African Games started. Karate was able to prepare and they were included in the team,” he said. Nlisana said the inclusion of karate into the team means the budget for the African Games has increased but did not have the figures. The BNSC has set a target of 10 medals at the Games, which started yesterday and run until March 23. Team Botswana comprises 54 athletes and 34 officials.
The team travelled in batches, with the remaining codes due to travel on March 14.