01 Mar 2020

Botswana Table Tennis Association (BTTA) is working round the clock to bring together a formidable squad that would participate in the forthcoming Africa Union Sport Council (AUSC Region 5) championships.

The tournament, to be played in Zimbabwe in July, carries an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) ranking points system and teams from the region are expected to take part.

Speaking on the sidelines of the second round of the four tournaments lined up for the national team selection, BTTA spokesperson Tiro Motswasele said four players from the first round which was played early last month would join the four who were selected after a tournament on Saturday at the Botswana National Youth Centre (BNYC).

Motswasele said they were impressed by how the team was shaping up and were looking forward to the fourth and last round to be played in April.

From the ladies side Olorato Ramagapu, Oratile Kedisaletse, Boitshwarelo Butale and Tshephang Kebidiwang made the cut from the first round while the men who qualified are Tshenolo Mooketsi, Bakang Maloka, Boago Molobela and Mompati Chabe.

This past weekend Tshegofatso Matlalo of True Identity club, Constance Kuswane and Game Kebudiwang of BDF, Tshepiso Rebatenne of Nhabe club booked a place for the third round which will be played mid-March to determine who fills the slots for the national team assignments.

For the men’s team, Smash Maniacs duo of Joseph Kgatlampane and Masa Lesole, Sam Dekop of Nhabe club and Thobo Matlhatsi of Nhabe qualified for the third round.

The team is expected to reproduce their past form in Zimbabwe and go for silverware.

In the last tournament played in Lesotho, the Botswana national team came second after the regional powerhouse South Africa.

They trailed behind South Africa in women’s team, men’s team, mixed doubles represented by Rebatenne and Mooketsi, women’s doubles represented by Rebatenne and Butale while Mooketsi and Matlhatsi won silver in the men’ doubles. ENDs