Zim tennis angels fly high in Namibia
DyNAMITE comes in small packages. This rings true of the outstanding achievement posted by Zimbabwe’s Under-14 girls’ tennis team in Windhoek, Namibia this week.
Kuzivaishe Chapepa, Rutendo Tom, and Akeelah Khanye stood head and shoulders above the Southern African lot at the International Tennis Federation and Confederation of African Tennis (ITF/CAT) Southern African Junior Individual and Teams Championships.
They accounted for South Africa beating the globally acclaimed team 2-0 to put a stop to their decades of dominance at this level of tennis.
Zimbabwe, just like the other participants, fielded four teams: Under14 boys and girls as well as Under-16 boys and girls.
The Under-16 girls which consisted of Zahara El Zein, Tinotenda Chipfakacha, and Chanelle Zhuwakini gave a good account of themselves as they captured silver after losing the final to South Africa.
The boys, Under-14 team came out fifth with their Under-16 colleagues finishing ninth as Zimbabwe was overly ranked second at the close of business.
Individually, Chapepa won gold in the Under-14 girls while El Zein won bronze in the Under-16 girls.
But it was the team event for the Under-14 girls that captured the imagination of many.
For good measure, Zimbabwe had never beaten South Africa at this stage since 1990.
And the historic feat is being celebrated across the country as the girls prepare for a busy and defining year for junior tennis.
Tennis Zimbabwe manager Kupakwashe Mukurumbira hailed the achievement by the girls.
“This is incredible. We are very proud of what they have done for the country,” he said.
“They went there to compete but no one gave them a chance against South Africa.
But their sheer determination delivered gold for the country.
“We are extremely proud of them”. Tom, who together with Khanye travelled by road to and from Namibia because their parents could not afford air tickets, was ecstatic.
“I can’t believe that we just picked gold in this tough competition. We told ourselves that we just needed to believe in our capabilities. “We pushed each other and kept on reminding ourselves of the target we set for ourselves. I am glad that it worked,” said Tom.
“It didn’t matter at the end of the day that South Africa has always dominated us.
We just threw everything at them. We kept on piling pressure on them and we conquered.
“I would like to thank everyone who supported us in this journey. A lot of challenges await ahead and we believe we will prevail as we prepare to go to Togo, Tunisia, and Egypt.
“We will keep on working hard as a group and at an individual level. At the end of the day, we have to defend our country’s badge and raise our flag high”.
These angels will be looking to conquer their way in international tennis when they participate in different competitions across Africa. They are however appealing for sponsorship as their parents have been footing the bills including contributing, to the coaches’ allowances, on their own.