Local Badminton umpire officiates in Benin
Botswana’s celebrated badminton umpire, Emmanuel Kgaboetsile is once again flying the country’s flag high in the African continent. The veteran umpire is currently in Benin where his expertise is used both as an umpire assessor and tournament referee. Kgaboetsile, who is an accredited Badminton World Federation assessor, has been lined up to conduct courses for some officials in Benin, All Africa U15 umpire assessor and All Africa U19 tournament referee.
Earlier this year, the 2019 Botswana National Sports Commission ( BNSC) sports person of the year award winner, officiated at the Toyota Thailand Open, Yonex Thailand open and HSBC Word tour finals. He expressed his gratitude to continue serving the sport he dearly loves.
“It means a lot to me, it is a great feeling to impart my knowledge to other people and in the process I also learn and grow,” Kgaboetsile noted. Kgaboetsile is no stranger to officiating outside the borders
of the country, following his experience of over a decade being one of Africa’s leading umpires, taking charge of some of the world’s prestigious events. Officiating is an area where Botswana Badminton Association seems to be blossoming after Emmanuel Saakane
was part of the officials at the just ended Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games as the line judge. Kgaboetsile has officiated at the Olympics, World Senior and Junior Championships, All Africa Games, and a chain of other local events. However, he is set to again officiate at
the Sudirman Cup ( World team championships) which are slated for Finland next month and in December he will take charge of World Championship ( Individuals) to be held in Spain.
Quizzed on the challenges he has faced in his illustrious and glittering career, he highlighted that, “Unfortunately official language for Badminton is English. Recently I have been to Ivory Coast, now am in Benin and communication has proved to be a challenge, translators are needed as these are not English speaking countries.”
He added that, local umpires are better placed to advance in the world ranking for officiating as most are fluent in English.
“I have produced more empires locally, and I must say they are progressing very well as compared to our players. Empowering more officials also means development of players and this is important for the growth of our game.” Kgaboetsile stated. BAA team has arrived in Benin for the All Africa Under- 19 Junior Championships and after going through mandatory COVID- 19 protocols, they have been cleared.
The country’s highest ever junior ranking was in 2014 during the Africa Youth Games where Botswana was ranked fourth in Africa. At the time, the local team brought home two bronze medals from the tournament. This time around the association has sent a four member team to the tournament.