EXCELS DESPITE DISABILITY
EP Open next challenge for SA’S No 2
UITENHAGE sportsman Marshall Marsh has spent virtually his whole life without legs from above the knees, but the wheelchair tennis ace has not let that bother him as he lays out his plans for the future. Marsh’s immediate priority will be to make an impact on the Acsa Eastern Cape Wheelchair Open which starts at NMMU today.
Ranked two in the country, Marsh will be aiming to use home-court advantage to his benefit, although he knows that the opposition – which includes SA No 1 Evans Maripa and Zimbabwe’s top player, Nyasha Mharakurwa – will be extremely tough.
Marsh, though, is accustomed to challenges, which he faced ever since he was seriously burnt in a fire at the age of two months.
“I lost my mom in that fire and I spent two years in a hospital in Cape Town,” Marsh said. “But being only two months old, I don’t remember a thing about all that.”
His legs were so severely burnt that they were amputated above the knees, but Marsh’s pos- itive approach is a lesson for many people better off than he is. He is coming towards the end of his studies towards a human movement science degree at NMMU. The completion of that degree next year will allow Marsh, 23, to focus more on his tennis. He is ranked about 90 in the world but he is motivated to make the top 50.
“To do that, I am going to have to play more tournaments,” Marsh said. “At the moment I am competing in about eight a year and, for example, the SA No 1 competes in 15-20 tournaments.
“I would also like to get to SA No 1 but I know that will take a lot of hard work and I am hoping once my studies are finished, I will have more time to devote to tennis.”
But Marsh’s ambitions are not devoted only to improving his level of play. He is equally keen to grow wheelchair tennis in the Eastern Cape and hopes to become a coach so he can help those in a similar situation.
Marsh was introduced to tennis by Northern Lights teacher Eugene Stallenberg about five years ago. He is now coached by former EP player Hennie de Klerk, a man who has been intimately involved in the game all his life.
An all-round sportsman, Marsh previously took part in basketball, power-lifting and athletics (javelin and shot put).
The biggest challenge for him is commuting, because he says he cannot access buses or taxis. “That can be a bit of problem so I have to rely on friends to get me around,” Marsh said.