Leemisa Thuseho
TWO badminton players and two coaches left the country this week for Gaborone where they will participate in this year’s edition of the Botswana Badminton International Tournament.
The under-23 tournament will run from today until 28 November 2021.
The Botswana Badminton Association hosts the event annually under the auspices of the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA). The tournament is returning this year after the cancellation of last year’s edition on account of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The tournament will incorporate a seven-day joint training camp for all participating players.
Lesotho will be represented by Tebello Selemela (male) and Maria Phatsisi (female). Both are from the National University of Lesotho (NUL) team. They are coached by Nyakallo Seboka who is assisted by Refiloe Moeletsi.
The training camp at the tournament will run from 18 to 24 November while the games are scheduled for 25 to 28 November. The team will compete in both the singles and doubles category.
The trip will be fully funded by the BCA which gave Lesotho a quota of two players. The duo was selected based on its current local rankings.
Phatsisi said the opportunity was too good to miss and they were hoping to gain lots of exposure.
“I feel honoured to get this opportunity,” Phatisi said.
“The exposure will greatly benefit us. It will also benefit fellow players when we return because we will share the skills with the ultimate goal of growing the sport.”
Phatsisi and Selemela are debuting the international scene which the former will be essential in their growth.
On his part, Seboka said the event will also help the coaches enhance their skills.
“The coaches are also going to benefit from the event and I think if we make use of such opportunities, our sport can grow,” Seboka said.
