Two Diteemane players earn wild card entry
There are two additions to the national table tennis team, Diteemane’s squad for the 2022 ITTF-Africa Senior Championships to be held in Algeria next month. The country’s top-ranked woman, Tshepiso Rebatenne and Kola Modisaotsile booked their spots at the continental showpiece at the AUSC Region 5 games, a regional qualifiers tournament held in Johannesburg, South Africa (SA) in July. The duo will be accompanied by BDF’s Tshenolo Mooketsi and Constance Kuswani to the competition that runs from September 3-9. The two additional players were given places at the championship after the Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) applied for a wild card provision.
“We had only two players who had qualified for the championships. So BTTA requested the wild card slots, which are availed by the ITTF (International Table Tennis Federation) before any major tournament. So from Botswana, Tshenolo Mooketsi and Constance
Kuswani were chosen and qualified for the championship under the wild card. They will add to Tshepiso Rebatenne and Kola Modisaotsile,” BTTA communication officer, Arthur Kgaswe told Mmegi Sport. He, however, said the BTTA is dealing with a headache as the association has to source for funds for the trip. The BTTA needs P124,000 and the players have since through their social media platforms, pleaded for financial assistance.
“Our funds have been exhausted. We do not have anything left. At the moment, we have informed the players about the trip and that on their behalf, they can try to find the money so we have given them that platform to go out and ask for the little they can get. The budget for each player is P31,000,” Kgaswe said.
The Africa Senior Championship is the biggest table tennis tournament on the continent and serves as a qualifier for the 2023 ITTF World Table Tennis Championship. There is a huge cash prize for the paddlers with $4,000 (approximately P50,000) to be won by the tournament’s champions.