Wheelchair b/ball appeals for support

DESPITE missing out on qualification for next year’s World Championships, Zimbabwe wheelchair basketball coach Job Kumunda says the participation by local teams in the recent African Qualifiers was an eye-opener.

Zimbabwe fielded both men and women’s teams for the tournament which was recently held in Durban, South Africa. But both sides could not make it for the global event, finishing sixth and third in the men and women’s categories respectively.

Only the winners from each section qualified for next year’s championships in Germany. Morocco and Algeria were the winners in the men and women’s section to book their places at the global championships.

One of the coaches for Zimbabwe, Kumunda, said with the right equipment and facilities, the local athletes are not very far from the other countries on the continent.

“Our teams, they played well. As for the players, because we had some Under-23s in the team, I think it was good exposure and experience playing with the big guys from other countries.

“But there is a lot that needs to be done. They had to travel by road and had to play matches the next day after their arrival, so it really affected us.

“We didn’t have enough time to prepare, they were training in their respective areas but training as an individual and as a team is different. We are grateful to South Africa they gave us their development wheelchairs because we did not have our own wheelchairs.

“So we need help, even a sponsor because at the moment the challenge is equipment. Even the countries we played against acknowledged that we have great potential but we need proper equipment,” said Kumunda.

Perrenial campaigners such as Algeria, Angola, Egypt and South Africa battled in the men’s section alogn with Kenya, Morocco, and Zimbabwe.

But there were only four nations - Algeria, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe - competing in the women’s category.

Lack of competition on the local scene also came into play since there are not many competitions locally.

Zimbabwe’s players have to rely on the Danhiko Games and the National Paralympic Games, which are held once a year.

With no national league or provincial leagues running it has also proved to be difficult for the players to catch up with their counterparts on the continent.

“We have to play more games if we are to be competitive. At the moment we have no competitive games although as Harare we have been playing some games once or twice a month,” said Kumunda.

Zimbabwe Wheelchair Basketball Association vice-president Eustine Manjovha echoed the same sentiments and added that they also lack qualified coaches in their area.

“We learnt a lot at the tournament, our level of play comparing with other countries is not far from them. It’s unfortunate we do not have enough qualified coaches. It’s a challenge and we need to train coaches.

“And we need to prepare for such events.

“We need to educate people about the sport and we are appealing to the Ministry (of Sport, Recreation, Arts and Culture) to help us,” said Manjovha.