01 Sep 2019

Team Botswana has clinched five gold and two silver medals at the just ended African Games held in Rabat, Morocco.

The August 30 bouts saw Botswana registering two gold medal and  one silver medal while athletics registered another gold from the 4x400 relay team and a silver, catapulting their medal standing to three gold medals and a silver.

Female boxers performed better than their male counterparts as  Keamogetse Kenosi  and Aratwa Kasemang won gold and silver medals respectively. Mahommed  Rajab Otukile redeemed the men’s camp by winning a gold.

The boxers did not disappoint given that prior to their departure Botswana Boxing Association (BoBA) vice president, Gilbert Khunwane asserted that they intended to win four medals, one gold, silver and two bronze from the continental spectacle.

Keamogetse made her intentions clear by defeating all her opponents in the different stages to qualify for the final.  In the final, she faced Marine Camara of Mali who was no stranger to the ring as the two had faced each other on numerous occasions. Keamogetse dominated her by a wide margin of 5-0 to win gold.

In an interview after her victory, Kenosi said she was happy. She stated that she earned the price after working hard.Kenosi said studying her opponents and working on her weaknesses brought the best out of her. She attributed her performance to both the Thailand and France preparatory camps they attended, and said it gave them the opportunity to hone their craft. She also credited her coaches.

Kenosi now eyes the World Championships billed for September 7 to continue her winning streak.

On track and field, the relay team comprising of Zibani Ngozi, Ditiro Nzamami, Onkabetse Nkobolo and Leungo Scotch won gold while their female counterpart settled for silver.

The women relay team comprised of Oratile Nnowe, Oarabile Babolayi, Amantle Montsho and Galefele Moroko.
Local track and field analyst, Lentswe Charles said the team displayed good skills, mental endurance and had a perfect race with a steady rhythm and maintained the energy.

He said all runners executed the race plan starting with Ngozi as his aim was to lead and maintain the pace.

The analyst credited Nzamani’s calculative move despite being under pressure from his two opponents, and being able to maintain the lead.

Nkobolo on the third leg went all out on the bend and maintained the lead until the home straight where the chasers came very strong, but he displayed explosive speed to finish.

Scotch, he said, exploded into a quick motion creating a noticeable gap despite his threatening opponents.

The analyst said Nigerian Chidi Okezie blasted past Scotch using his long stride as Scotch maintained his pace with a South African runner trying to eclipse Scotch to no avail.

Charles said it was clear that Scotch would not settle for less as he increased his speed in the last 50 metres to deliver a gold for Botswana. ENDS