Leburu feels fate brought her to squash

Thato Kala | Friday October 25, 2013 15:35

 

She knew little about the game back in 2006 and would occasionally hear her friend, Lucky Motshabi, talk about it.

She was never moved, until she decided to go and watch her friend.

“The first time I went to the squash club, I grew fond of the sport and told myself I would return and try it out,” she says. Her second visit to the squash courts was enough for her to make a resolution to take it up seriously.

And to date, the Serowe-born star stands out as ladies’ squash leading light.

She has participated in two tournaments held outside Botswana.

Her first was the Bulawayo Open in Zimbabwe in August this year. She went as far as the semi-finals. 

Later in the same month, she played the Namibia Open and came back home with a silver plate.

The Limkokwing University student relishes the international exposure she got from the two tournaments and believes they infused a renewed wave of passion in her.

“Representing the country made me proud and got people talking about squash and that inspired me to work hard so I can excel at such tournaments in future. Facing professional players at the All Africa Tournament (in Namibia) showed me there was more to the game,” says the 25-year-old.

The Namibia tournament drew players from countries with professional setups like Egypt and South Africa. 

After watching them play, Leburu says she was convinced that Botswana has enough talent to challenge for honours at such levels if players are given the right exposure.

Like every other squash player, Leburu had hoped the sport would be included in the 2020 Olympics, but their bid was unsuccessful. 

“It is sad that my favorite sport lost the bid to be included in one of the biggest sports events. But I believe there is a time for everything and this should not demoralise us,” she says. 

Locally, she is convinced the biggest drawback in the growth of the ladies game is lack of training facilities.  

Despite that, she has continued to recruit her female colleagues to the sport.   

“I have not done enough as I have started recruiting a number of young women to play squash but I have discovered that there is still a need for me to come up with a good strategy to draw more into the game.”

As the leading light of the ladies’ game, Leburu has found no female to look up to locally, but draws a lot of inspiration from United States-based Alister Walker.

“He is an outstanding squash player and would love to see young starts do well in squash to become professional players like him,” she says.

With talents like 14-year-old Theo Pelonomi who was singled out as the youngest player ever to compete in the World Men’s Squash Championships this year, Leburu knows that if she stays the course she will see another Walker in the near future.

 

 

Fact File

Name: Lady Leburu

Place Of Birth: Serowe, Botswana

Date Of Birth: 23/1/1988  

Sport: Squash

Club: Stadium Squash Club

Honour: Silver plate in Namibia

National team caps: 5