Mikia Kalati
THE Lesotho Boxing Amateur Association (LABA) has confirmed the devastating news that boxing sensation, Inkululeko Suntele, was stabbed to death last Friday.
Suntele represented the country at the 2016 Rio Olympic Games in Brazil after securing qualification with an impressive performance at a highly competitive continental qualifying tournament where only the best from Africa booked their tickets to Brazil.
The sudden death of this young athlete with so much potential is not only devastating to the boxing fraternity but it is a great loss to the country at large.
Suntele’s star had been on the rise over the last two years so much that he was chosen as the flag bearer for Team Lesotho at the closing ceremony of the Olympics.
I will not go into the details of his stabbing and ended consequent death. Suffice to say that this is another life tragically cut short and it serves to demonstrate that sports administrators have so much to do to influence the lives and shape the careers of athletes under their wings.
I concur with my colleague, Moorosi Tsiane, who pleaded with administrators in his column in our sister Sunday Express newspaper to stop their self-serving petty fights and focus sports development.
So much needs to be done for our country to get to the level of our counterparts on the continent and beyond. We need to work hard in order to do well at continental and global events such as the Commonwealth and Olympic games.
One of those things that I feel the sports associations should implement as a matter of urgency is a life skills programme that will empower our athletes to deal with the fame and even wealth that comes with being a sports star.
This will equip them with comping techniques, showing them how to live and behave within society.
I have been informed that it is not the first time that Suntele was stabbed and it is said that he was still recovering from the first incident when he met his untimely death.
This goes to show that our sports stars do not have it easy and often have serious life challenges to deal with.
We all know the stories of the likes of George Best, Diego Maradona, Jabu Pule, Gift Leremi, Dennis Rodman and Paul Gascoigne whose otherwise brilliant careers were marred by wayward lifestyles of womanising, partying, booze and substance abuse.
Here at home we have had a lot of talented athletes who unfortunately failed to live up to expectations due to the pressures that come with being sport stars.
I am not saying that Suntele was a bad boy but growing up in a rough and tough neighborhood like Sea Point was always going to make it difficult for him to survive the challenges that come with fame.
This has always been the case with athletes from townships like Qoaling, Sea Point, Tšenola and Mazenod.
They have been subjected to pressures and temptations in the form of alcoholism, substance abuse and lots of parting.
This puts in danger of fights where the risk of being stabbed is always high.
That is where the issue of life skills programmes come in.
It is also important that athletes are discriminating as to where they spend their leisure time to ensure they can have fun without being harmed.
We are all saddened to lose a talented boxer.
He has been taken away from us when we expected a lot from him.
My sincere condolences go out to his family and I hope they find solace from what Suntele achieved.
May his soul rest in peace!
