Swimmer Hayley confident ahead of RASA
MBABANE – Eswatini sensational swimmer Hayley Hoy is confident ahead of the fifth edition of the Regional Annual Sports Awards (RASA) set to take place on Saturday.
RASA is a Region V premier event that celebrates sporting excellence from 10 member countries.
These countries are Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Achievement
ahead in terms of negotiations and other things for him to move to Durban and if the new coach will like the player ,” the source said.
Mbabane Swallows General Manager Sandile Zwane could neither confirm nor deny the reports. “There are many teams interested in our players and we are happy that we always produce players of international standard. We are looking forward to exporting more players not just to South Africa but even Europe and Asia,” he was quoted saying.
Meanwhile, AmaZulu media and communications officer Nhlanhla Makhathini was quoted saying that they would only communicate when the time was right for them. “Right now one can’t comment regarding players as we only hired and announced our head coach on Tuesday. Management are expecting him to arrive next week where all matters pertaining players can be probably finalised.” he said briefly.
AmaZulu were last season under the mentorship of Brandon Truter before Romain Folz took over. The latter was replaced by Ayanda Dlamini on an interim basis before the tactician exited at the end of the 2022/23 season. They finished the league at position 12 on the DStv Premiership log standings, managing to win only seven games out of 30. performance since the start of the year,” she said.
Hoy, who represented Eswatini at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, said she remained positive that she will win the award after doing well.
“I believe that I have done my best to win the prestigious award but there are many other deserving athletes of this award. Whether or not I win the award on Saturday, I’m just blessed enough to have been nominated,” she added.
NOMINEES:
Junior Female Sportsperson of the year
● Christine Mboma Namibia Athletics
● Hayley Hoy Eswatini Swimming
● Jade Phiri Zambia Swimming Junior Male Sportsperson of the year
● Sihlelelwe Matsebula Eswatini Taekwondo
● William Chinzewe Zambia Draught
● Sean Joseph Malawi Boxing
Billed for Saturday at the Esibayeni Lodge in Matsapha, Hoy, who will represent the country at the Youth Commonwealth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in August 2023, said it was an achievement for her to be among the top three in the Best Junior Female Sportsperson of the year category.
“I feel honoured and privileged. I was extremely surprised to see that I made the top three as I never expected it. I’m blessed and humbled to have made it this far and I’m looking forward to Saturday but being among the top three already makes me very proud of my
Deserved
Eswatini Swimming Association (ESA) Secretary General (SG) Nozipho Mahlalela said they believed that Hoy deserved to win the award after doing well for the country.
“She has been phenomenal and has showed signs of being one of the best swimmers to come from the country.
“As an association, we are very proud of her and we believe that being in the top three is already an achievement,” Mahlalela said.
Another outstanding junior athlete from Eswatini, who made it to the Regional Annual Sports Awards, is excelling Taekwondo Karate star Sihlelelwe Matsebula, who could not be reached for comment after his cellphone rang unanswered when called yesterday afternoon.