ZIM CLAIM SILVER, TWO BRONZE
. . . Harare clubs forced to travel again
IT was a treble delight for Zimbabwe from the Borteyman Aquatic complex in Accra last night as the duo of Denilson Cyprianos and Donata Katai swam their way to Silver and bronze medals.
Another bronze was added by the Women’s 4x100m freestyle relay team of Paige Van der Westhuizen, Vhenekai Dhemba, Donata and Mikayla Makwabarara.
The triumph in the swimming pool took Team Zimbabwe’s medal tally to five, adding on to Cyprianos’ gold and the success of the women’s cricket side who face South Africa in the final this afternoon.
The Lady Chevrons will take to the crease in a game that will determine whether they will bag gold or silver.
Cyprianos and Katai had set the tone for the wave of expectations after finishing first and second overall in their heats earlier in the day.
And the duo did not disappoint either when it came to the finals.
After claiming gold on Sunday night, Cyprianos a strong favourite to win the race made his a double when he completed the Men’s 100m backstroke final in 56.32s.
There was still time on the night for another bronze via the exploits of the Women’s relay team of Vhenekai Dhemba, Mikalya Makwabarara, Katai, and Westhuizen.
The relay team had finished fifth but benefited from the disqualification of third and fourth-placed teams.
It could have been four medals had swimming captain Westhuizen not agonisingly missed third place in her new national 50m breaststroke record of 33.59.
“Winning bronze and getting back on the podium is amazing.
“I am just so proud of my country,” Katai said.
AMBITIOUS Simba Bhora will finally experience home advantage this weekend when they host GreenFuel in Week 2 of the Castle Lager Premier Soccer League season after their Wadzanai Stadium in Shamva was approved.
On the other hand, Harare giants Dynamos will have to host Hwange at Barbourfields in Bulawayo as Rufaro has not yet been certified while the National Sports Stadium is unavailable due to renovations aimed at re-admission for international matches.
Harare clubs Herentals College and CAPS United will travel to Kariba for their match at Nyamhunga due to the stadium crisis in the capital.
The Zifa First Instance Board was satisfied with the work being done at Wadzanai a huge development for Simba Bhora who played all their home matches away from Shamva in their debut Premiership season last year.
Club chairman, Isaiah Mupfurutsa said they are excited about hosting their home matches at Wadzanai as it benefits both the club and the community.
“We are excited about this development. It means a lot to the club and the community at large,” he said.
“The fans are the owners of the game and they were traveling to Harare or Ngezi to see the team play their home matches.
“So as we now host the game in Shamva it means the club will have more support as the fans will have less costs to attend matches. And the importance of the 12th man can’t be overlooked in football.” He added:
“The club will also see some revenue flows through gate takings and avoid a lot of costs which we incurred through traveling.
“With that, the team will be having the peace of mind as hosting matches in your backyard is a major booster for the confidence of the team.
Mupfurutsa highlighted that the club will be working on continuing to develop the stadium for it to be a complete full house.
Currently, the stadium is yet to have terraces constructed on both ends of the pitch and Mupfurutsa says the club is attending to that as well as finishing the clubhouse which is adjacent to the stadium.
“So the club is also looking forward to bringing in more bucket seats and constructing terraces on the other sides to complete a full house.
“The club is also spearheading some projects and the construction of a clubhouse, which will house a sports club and restaurant will be resumed. The construction already started but it had been put on hold to give full focus to the stadium.
In a post-match interview with our Mutare Bureau on Sunday, Simba Bhora coach Tonderai Ndiraya said he is looking forward to witnessing the electric atmosphere associated with football fans in Shamva.
“Yes, I have been told that the fans in Shamva are the best any club can have across Zimbabwe and I am yet to witness that. I can’t wait to see that for myself.
“I am told that they come in numbers each time their club is at home and I looking forward to witnessing that. We have been playing away from home for quite some time and we want to go back to our people. Some of them (fans in Shamva) have not been able to follow us for our matches.
“Only a few have been following us and thanks to ZTN some have been following the team on television but you and I can agree that not everyone who loves the team will have access to all that.
“So we can’t wait to play before our fans in Shamva. We could not even go there and conduct our training session so it is a huge achievement that we can now go back and play competitive matches before our fans,” said Ndiraya.
Star-studded Simba Bhora managed to lure several talented players including former Soccer Star of the Year Walter Musona, ex-Bulawayo Chiefs trio of Malvin Mkolo, Billy Vheremu, and Mthokozisi Msebe.
Also now in the Simba Bhora camp are Bulawayo Dynamos midfielder Junior Makunike and Perfect Chikwende.
They have also added to their squad, ex Warriors goalkeeper Talbert Shumba.
Former Dynamos goalkeeper Taimon Mvula and Wilson Mensah, formerly of Triangle, also joined Simba, as has Gift Saunyama, formerly of Black Rhinos, and Harrison Musina from Eastern Region Division One side, Hunters.
Week 2 fixtures Saturday: Chicken Inn v Arenel Movers (Luveve); Dynamos v Hwange (B/F); Herentals v CAPS United (Nyamhunga); Ngezi Platinum v FC Platinum (Baobab); Simba Bhora v GreenFuel (Wadzanai)
Sunday: Bulawayo Chiefs v Highlanders (B/F); Chegutu Pirates v ZPC Kariba (Baobab).