The team was forced to withdraw from the singles events and will only compete in the team events due to financial constraints at the Botswana Badminton Association (BBA). The team’s head coach, Ookeditse Thela was also forced to leave behind some of the country’s top players due to work commitments. He assembled a four-member squad that includes, Tsamorena Kgosidialwa, Tumelo Moilwa, Keletso Ntebela and Tebogo Perekisi. Missing from the squad are Tshepo Perekisi, Tumisang Olekantse and former top ranked woman player, Tessa Kabelo.
Speaking to Sport Monitor prior the team’s departure, Thela was coy with details on the selection criteria but promised a bronze medal from the spectacle. “We focused more on the aspects of the game such as service, return of service and reaction time. Since badminton is one of the fastest ratchet sports, so you need speed to play. They also played a number of games to improve their decision making skills. “The selection criteria included a number of factors like players have to display good technical skills, their fitness level also should be high. They should be able to attend camps and it is also worthy to note that some players could not make the team because of work commitments. Our target is to get a bronze medal,” Thela said. In a team event, a team plays for a five point scenario and the first team to bag three points wins the tie. Thela expressed confidence in the squad as he said they gained valuable experience at the 2022 Botswana International Open that was followed by the two sets of training camps between December and February. “I am happy about the preparations we had for this championship. We started our training in December; the national team players were competing in the Botswana International. The competition attracted players from outside and gave us a good exercise,” he said.
The tournament will run from today until Thursday in Benoni South Africa. Team Botswana left on Saturday and is expected home on Friday.
