Sport

Botswana Wins Zone Six Tennis Medals

 

Botswana Wins Zone Six Tennis Medals 
Thato Kala
Correspondent
 
LUSAKA: Botswana women won silver in the team events of the Zone Six tournament in Lusaka, Zambia while the men settled for bronze after falling to Zambia A and South Africa on Saturday. South Africa won gold in both categories after beating Botswana in the women's final and Zambia in the men's final.
Botswana men had a sloppy start after falling 3-1 to the hosts' A team early on Saturday.
BDF Table Tennis Club star Thobo Matlhatsi kicked off the tie against Zambia A and lost to Friday Ng'andu before Botswana's number one, Joseph Kgatlampane fell to Simasiku Kalaluka 3-2. Kanye Club ace, Rorisang Raesima then gave Botswana a glimmer of hope when he beat Zambia's Lloyd Mubanga 3-1. The hosts then killed the match as a contest when Simasiku beat Matlhatsi 3-0. Botswana bounced back with identical 3-1 win over Zambia's B team and Namibia. Rookie star, Peo 'Kilo' Thebe made his international debut in the game against Namibia and did extremely well. He led his opponent 1-0 early into the tie, but the Namibian came back strongly to take a 2-1 lead. In the end, he lost 3-2.
A win over South Africa in the next game would have given Botswana gold. But it was not to be as Botswana fell 3-0 in the last game.
National team coach, Sai Maribe fielded the country's top three stars - Kgatlampane, Matlatsi and Raesima - but the South Africans proved too strong for them.
Maribe said he was happy with the team's performance. 'My players were not bad. I am quite pleased because the intention was to get a medal and we have done it. Of course, it cannot be enough but I am content,' he told The Monitor Sport. 
The women had an easy outing against Zambia's A team, winning 3-0. Zimbabwe and Namibia did not bring female players behind, a setback that meant Botswana only faced South Africa and the hosts. The most exciting women game was between South Africa and Botswana.
Former number one, Boitshwarelo Butale, started off and lost 3-1 before the fast-improving Tshepiso Rebatenne took on South Africa's Khanyisile Madlala. 
It was quite a close call with Botswana's number one, Rebatenne, falling 3-2. The last set ended 11-8 as Rebatenne fought hard against a player with vast international exposure. 
Rebatenne put the well-travelled star under pressure throughout the entire game and came close to winning in the last set, but let it slip when she allowed her to bounce back. 
'I'm quite proud of myself, I think I played very well against South Africa's top player. I also think we played well as a team and the gap between us and the other countries is not too big,' she said.National women's team coach, Tshepo 'Jakes' Modisane said he was impressed by his players' performance. He said they had shown a lot of improvement from previous tournaments.
'I was impressed with the way they played. The Zambians were not strong opponents.' Botswana women needed at least a bronze medal to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year. 

Botswana men had a sloppy start after falling 3-1 to the hosts' A team early on Saturday.BDF Table Tennis Club star Thobo Matlhatsi kicked off the tie against Zambia A and lost to Friday Ng'andu before Botswana's number one, Joseph Kgatlampane fell to Simasiku Kalaluka 3-2. Kanye Club ace, Rorisang Raesima then gave Botswana a glimmer of hope when he beat Zambia's Lloyd Mubanga 3-1. The hosts then killed the match as a contest when Simasiku beat Matlhatsi 3-0. Botswana bounced back with identical 3-1 win over Zambia's B team and Namibia. Rookie star, Peo 'Kilo' Thebe made his international debut in the game against Namibia and did extremely well. He led his opponent 1-0 early into the tie, but the Namibian came back strongly to take a 2-1 lead. In the end, he lost 3-2.A win over South Africa in the next game would have given Botswana gold. But it was not to be as Botswana fell 3-0 in the last game.National team coach, Sai Maribe fielded the country's top three stars - Kgatlampane, Matlatsi and Raesima - but the South Africans proved too strong for them.Maribe said he was happy with the team's performance. 'My players were not bad. I am quite pleased because the intention was to get a medal and we have done it. Of course, it cannot be enough but I am content,' he told The Monitor Sport. The women had an easy outing against Zambia's A team, winning 3-0. Zimbabwe and Namibia did not bring female players behind, a setback that meant Botswana only faced South Africa and the hosts. The most exciting women game was between South Africa and Botswana.Former number one, Boitshwarelo Butale, started off and lost 3-1 before the fast-improving Tshepiso Rebatenne took on South Africa's Khanyisile Madlala. It was quite a close call with Botswana's number one, Rebatenne, falling 3-2. The last set ended 11-8 as Rebatenne fought hard against a player with vast international exposure. Rebatenne put the well-travelled star under pressure throughout the entire game and came close to winning in the last set, but let it slip when she allowed her to bounce back. 'I'm quite proud of myself, I think I played very well against South Africa's top player. I also think we played well as a team and the gap between us and the other countries is not too big,' she said.National women's team coach, Tshepo 'Jakes' Modisane said he was impressed by his players' performance. He said they had shown a lot of improvement from previous tournaments.'I was impressed with the way they played. The Zambians were not strong opponents.' Botswana women needed at least a bronze medal to qualify for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this year.