14 countries in Bulawayo for Squash
BULAWAYO is gearing up to host the Squash Federation Africa Senior Championships to be held across four venues in the city next month.
Christian Brothers College, Old Miltonians, Holiday Inn and Suburbs Squash Club are the venues for the Championships to be held from 14 to 21 October. Squash Africa Federation president, Lucky Mlilo said part of the preparations encompasses giving attention to venues like Suburbs Squash Club and also taking great interest in where the players will be accommodated.
“We are preparing, we are giving the place a facelift and we’ve looked at various places where the players will be accommodated, we hope it will go very well,’’ said Mlilo.
On the reasons for having the final played at Holiday Inn, Mlilo pointed out that they looked at a venue that could accommodate more spectators for the deciding matches.
“It’s the space, we know Holiday Inn can accommodate up to over 300 spectators, we are looking at the glass court at Suburbs, at maximum we can accommodate about 100 so it’s a big event and most people would want to come and watch so this is why the decision was made to have the finals at Holiday Inn but most of the matches will be played at Suburbs which has four courts,’’ Mlilo said.
A total of 14 countries are taking part in the championships but Mlilo explained that Tanzania and Zanzibar are participating as individual countries yet ideally, they are usually under the unified banner of the United Republic of Tanzania. Other participating countries that have confirmed their participation are Botswana, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Nigeria, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, Zanzibar and Zimbabwe.
“We are looking at 15 countries although technically its 14 countries, because what we have done is we have taken Zanzibar and Tanzania as individual countries but they normally come under the United Republic of Tanzania banner which covers the two countries, so its 14 countries. Just this week we got news from Rwanda that they are unable to send a team, we were hoping that they will send these two players that will play in the individuals’ category but it looks like they have had financial challenges so we are down to 13 countries,’’ clarified Mlilo.
Countries are expected to send field their best individual players, with a lot of attention being on Egypt who are reigning world champions.
“The Senior Championships, this is where you get the top players coming unlike the junior championships which looks at players Under-19. Here are we looking at the top, the cream in each country, you would imagine Egypt is coming and these are the world champions so we should expect fireworks,’’ Mlilo said.
Zimbabwe, as the host nation will be fielding two teams in the men and same number in the women.
“As the hosts, we got the privilege of hosting two teams, an A and B for men and an A and B for ladies.”
Mlilo stated that there is excitement seeing a number of siblings are to represent their country with the Bulawayo-based Gwidzima family to provide two players and a team manager.
“The exciting news with our team is that for the first time we’ve got three siblings all representing Zimbabwe, I would say four with the manager. We have got our own Ryan Gwidzima who is only 16, he has broken into the senior national team and the young sister Natalia will also be playing in the Zimbabwe B ladies section. We also have got the father Langton Gwidzima who will be the manager for the Zimbabwe B team so it’s a siblings affair.
“In Harare we have got Yvonne Mubure and Polite Mubure, these are sisters, we also have got Malvin who will be playing in the Zimbabwe A team, the two sisters will be playing in the Zimbabwe A ladies team. We also got Roy and Talent Jambo, they will be playing in the Zimbabwe B team so that’s more of a family affair, and its good, we’ve identified talent and found talent so it will be a good occasion for them to showcase their skills,’’ said Mlilo.
Two of the country’s best male players, Blessing Muhwati and Tayne Turnock are based outside the country, which means they are playing competitive squash. Mlilo is pleased with how the team has been preparing for the championships.
“We’ve got two players that are overseas, Tayne Turnock, the 2019 Zimbabwe champion and we’ve got Blessing Muhwati, who is based in the Holland, so they have been playing PSA tournaments, in a way that’s practice for them. We have got players in Harare, they have been training for the past two weeks and players here in Bulawayo they have also been training, I know Ryan has been playing quite well, being drilled by the father. In terms of training, I am quite happy that they are training very well,’’ updated Mlilo.
Seeing that Egypt and South Africa, the continent’s top two teams are heading to Zimbabwe, it will be tough for the home team to claim the gold.
“Expectations are high, being the host but there is a good challenge coming from Egypt and South Africa who in the past tournaments have taken the first and second spot, but we will fight for the gold and the silver, if we cannot get that, let’s get the bronze,’’ said an expectant Mlilo.
On what Zimbabwe stands to benefit from hosting such a tournament, Mlilo believes that having the event will aid in encouraging sports tourism as well as enhancing the country’s image.
“In terms of benefits, they are quite numerous, obviously in terms of sports tourism, we will be promoting that, these teams are coming here and they will need to be accommodated and we are just looking at the programme so that we can incorporate some leisure time and what it means, it means taking them to places of interest for instance Matobo or Antelope Park but the decision has not been made yet but obviously we do need to have some leisure time. In terms of the image for the country, we have had negative image in various aspects but with all those 13 countries coming to Zimbabwe, what it means is that we will portray a very good image, Zimbabwe is open for business as the mantra says,’’ the Squash Africa Federation boss stated.