Govt revel in sporting success
SPORTS and Recreation Minister Makhosini Hlongwane has congratulated Zimbabwean teams and athletes for flying the national flag high in different sporting disciplines in recent weeks.
He, however, took a swipe at the Zimbabwe Rugby Union for their continued factional fights and warned them to concentrate on developing the game.
Addressing a Press conference in Harare yesterday, Hlongwane said he was happy with the Warriors, Chevrons and Sables success and the medals won by the athletics team.
“The Government of Zimbabwe takes pride in recent outstanding performances by the Zimbabwe national soccer team, the men’s cricket team, the senior men’s rugby team, national athletics team and Benjamin Lock, the national tennis champion.
“I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for the recent diligent sportsmanship expressed through these outstanding performances by the country’s national teams and their representative members.
“The senior men’s soccer team lifted the Cosafa Castle Cup and we urge the Warriors to continue their fine run on national assignments especially on the CHAN and Afcon qualifiers.
“I also congratulate the Chevrons for recording a series victory over Sri Lanka in what turned out to be an historic success for Zimbabwean cricket.
“The win was the Chevrons’ first series win away from home in eight years and we hope this will turn the fortunes of Zimbabwe cricket,” said Hlongwane.
He also heaped praise on the junior athletics team who recently won nine medals at the African Junior Championships in Algeria and wished the team that left the country on Monday for the World Junior Championships in Kenya well.
“We are happy for the junior team that won three gold, three silver and the same number of bronze medals as well as the Sables.
“We also encourage the Athletics Association of Zimbabwe to take advantage of the Community Sport and Recreation Club System to deepen their grassroot development and enhance their presence.
“The Sables did well against Senegal in the Africa Gold Cup Group 1A despite the difficulties in preparations for the match.
“However, we also caution the ZRU to take their work seriously and set aside factional fights and be more grounded on developing rugby in Zimbabwe.
‘’I urge the ZRU to dispense their duties fully and beyond petty political fights which compromise the development of the sport,” Hlongwane said.
The Minister also promised to host a function next week to celebrate the success.
“We are looking forward to be in touch with the teams and I believe our team will organise something for the winning teams in the next few weeks,” said Hlongwane who flew to Russia last night.