Table tennis gets P20,000
First Capital Bank has injected P15,000 towards the Botswana Table Tennis (BTTA) coffers as they prepare to host the Indian 75 tournament. Table tennis also received P5,000 from Phoenix Assurance Group for the tournament. The tournament will be played at the Botho University on November 13.
Speaking during the launch of the sponsorship, Botswana National Sport Commission (BNSC) board vice chairperson, Tebogo Lebotse-Sebego said table tennis has shown perseverance, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that during difficult times they kept going.
She said as the commission they are proud of table tennis and remain hopeful that the sport code will move from tier two to tier one.
“You are currently on tier two and I am hopeful that you will move to tier one sport and I do not see that not happening,” she said.
The partnership started in 2019 when table tennis signed an agreement with an Indian company, Stag International, which supplies BTTA with equipment.
Lebotse-Sebego said there is a narrative that sport and academic excellence do not go hand-in-hand which is untrue. She said some sportspeople are excelling academically.
“It is something that I admire about the partnership that table tennis has with the Indian High Commission,” Lebotse-Sebego said. The High Commission provides scholarships to athletes to study in India.
“Sport is a short career and someone must have something to fall back on. As much as we want our athletes to excel in sport in India but they must also excel in academics and come back and contribute not only to sports but to the economy of this country. Table tennis has not yet benefited from the BNSC Elite scholarship. For me that is something that needs to be corrected. Next year your athletes must be part of this programme,” Lebotse-Sebego said.
Handing over the cheque, First Capital Bank’s head of consumer lending, Thatayaone Matlapeng said they believe the sponsorship will bring together the best talent in the country to compete in the tournament.
Meanwhile, BTTA spokesperson Tshegofatso Malepa told Mmegi Sport that they are still looking for more sponsors to come on board. She said the one-day tournament will be played in three categories, singles, mixed doubles and the recently introduced Under-12 category.
“We have not been playing mixed doubles but they returned during the Independence tournament. We are also going to give veterans a chance to also compete. Players who are interested in taking part in this tournament should register and then a draw will be held on November 11 at the BNYC.
After the draw, the tournament will be played in group stages, the first two people in each group qualify for the next stage which is ladder matches. In the ladder matches, only the winners will proceed to the next stage,” Malepa said.
Meanwhile, Malepa said two local players are based in India after being offered scholarships by the Indian High Commission. One of the players, Phetso Jack scooped position three in the UGDOSH 22’ university games that were held in Kanpur in October. This tournament is one of the biggest annual tournaments for universities. Phetso represented the team, Delhi Technological University, where he is currently studying.
The games were played in group stages where four groups were made up of five teams each and the top two teams in each group advanced to the knockout stages. Jack progressed to the semi-finals where he finished in third place.